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Adiuvo provides out-of-hours call handling and where necessary provision of contractors to more than 340,000 properties throughout the UK and Ireland via a team of experienced property and customer service staff.  We triage all incoming calls and progress emergencies to at least a point where there is no further ongoing material damage or implications for the health and safety of residents. This is done while reporting progress in real time to Adiuvo’s clients who range from nationwide managing agents and

McDowalls Surveyors are delighted to welcome Colin Horton as head of their residential Valuation Department. He is one of the industries young stars and his breadth of experience in lease extensions, enfranchisement and specialist residential valuation at 28, strengthens the expanding team at McDowalls.

The subject of ground rent has now become a point of political interest and you may have seen some of the recent interest in this area. Who would have thought that ground rents would make it to the front page of the Times? Following on from Sajid Javid’s announcement that the government is going to look in more detail on the question of ground rent and leasehold houses and particularly banning the creation of ground rent for new leasehold houses, the whole question of ground rents more generally looks set

Earl Kendrick Associates are delighted to announce that Graeme Parslow has joined the company as a Technical Associate and Team Leader. As well as being an experienced building surveyor with excellent technical expertise, Graeme has an MBA and will bring his business acumen into the company by assisting with APC coaching as well as long-term strategy.

Harris Associates celebrated their 10 year anniversary at the All Star Lanes in July.  The evening was enjoyed by close to 100 guests, from property managers and direct clients to consultants, contractors and everyone in between.  “It was a super evening and as well as a celebration it was also a way of thanking everyone who has contributed to our growth and success.  Looking forward to the next 10 years”  Shaun Harris

In July Neal Highfield joined Harris Associates, heading up a new team based out of the new Hatton Garden office.  “Neal is well known within the industry and is a seasoned high quality performer.  I am delighted that he has joined Harris Associates and already his skill and experience are bearing fruit”  Shaun Harris.  As well as heading up a team of surveyors Neal will also be responsible for overseeing service delivery and quality control.

A lease is the grant of legal interest in land which gives exclusive possession for a fixed period of time. A licence is merely a personal permission granting licence to occupy or do something on someone else’s property. Case law has previously highlighted the differences between a lease and licence, in particular that a lease may give security of tenure to a business tenant whereas a licence does not. The law also confirms that even if an agreement purports to call itself a ‘licence’, it does not meant t

Highly acclaimed Islington based law firm, Bolt Burdon, boost their award winning enfranchisement team by hiring a new solicitor. Danielle Green joins the firm as a solicitor with six years leasehold property sector experience to call upon. With a property management and property dispute background, Danielle is well qualified to advise both landlords and tenants. Speaking about the new appointment, Darren Coleran (Partner and Enfranchisement team Leader) said: “We are thrilled that Danielle is joining t

Where LED lighting is concerned, all warranties are not created equal. There are as many different guarantees on the market as there are manufacturers out there. With bold claims being made that these lights will virtually last a lifetime, you could be forgiven for thinking that the warranties they come with will be equally durable. But, as block managers are finding to their cost, this is not necessarily the case. Two particular issues are of concern to end users when it comes to LED lighting. First, how

New build leasehold houses will be banned and ground rents on new flats are to be kept at peppercorn levels and may even be cut to zero as part of a government shake-up of leaseholds. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid made the pledge as he revealed his plans following a groundswell of anger from homeowners. Developers have faced growing criticism for selling new houses with leases, which have seen many ground rents rising in line with inflation. Some include a clause that doubles the fee every decade, ham

July is the Citizens Advice Bureau’s scam awareness month.  Landlords, property owners and investors, particularly overseas investors, are not immune to sophisticated property fraud and scams.  With property commanding ever higher prices, it is important to be aware of potential scams and fraud and, where possible, counter the risks.  Boodle Hatfield’s Nikki Yates explains how. Property scams typically happen at the time of purchase or sale, but the owner should also take precautions once the property is

Grosvenor Systems, the team behind Propman, one of the UK’s leading block management and accounting systems, is set to launch a brand-new survey app for property managers. Launching this August, the new Propman Survey App, will enable property managers to complete surveys on-site and in real-time, as well as uploading the data directly back into Propman. Nic Dodwell, Managing Director at Grosvenor Systems comments “The demand on property managers has increased significantly and there’s never been a more i