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If you are acquiring - or considering acquiring - the freehold of your building, you will know that the process requires a great deal of planning and that there are many legal and technical issues to consider. Once formed, your new freehold company will have full responsibility for the management of your building and this includes insurance. It’s something which many people overlook. Directors of residents associations have, broadly speaking, two options when considering how to insure the property they ar

Leases generally require leaseholders to contribute to insurance of their block – whether by including the cost in the general service charges or by way of a separate charge known as an “insurance rent”. Residential leaseholders have statutory rights in relation to insurance, but the most important is the ability to challenge the costs in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England, or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales. Insurance costs are limited in three ways: ·         The lease may e

We have brought back the digital edition of News on the Block on our website so that you can view and read the magazine before the print copy lands on your desk.  To read the digital edition of Issue 88 please click here.

Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: After 12 months of customer feedback and internal research, Resident Block Management Software is proud to release version 3 of their industry leading block management software. Re-written from the ground up to use the latest cutting edge web technologies combined with a brand new user interface - this release will make the lives of those who manage blocks easier and more efficient and marks a major milestone for the company.   Founder of Resident, Kate Boyes:   “My goal,

Winner and female entrepreneur, Shazda Ahmed is awarded the title of Outstanding Young Business Personality, in the Northern Powerhouse. The prestigious Northern Lights 2017 inaugural award ceremony was designed to celebrate business excellence and collaboration across the North of England, the ceremony honored the companies and individuals who have been instrumental in working together and driving forward plans to help make the UK Northern Powerhouse a reality. The Young Business Personality of the Year

Maria Economou is a leasehold enfranchisement solicitor at YVA solicitors, who shares Angela Alexiou's vision of growing the department and educating the public on all aspects of leasehold reform.    Maria has experience in advising leaseholders and freeholders through both the statutory and informal leasehold and enfranchisement process. She offers technical and commercial advice to her clients.   Maria has also embraced the challenge of running the marathon and raising money for the North London Hospice

Emergency lighting, like terrorism insurance or the airbag in your car, is something that we all hope we will never need. Thankfully, in most blocks it is infrequently – if ever – used, so this aspect of block lighting isn’t always uppermost in block managers or their residents’ minds. An understandable but potentially dangerous attitude and one that, as lighting consultants, we are working to change. If there were to be a major incident at your block and residents were plunged into darkness the emergency

There was something reassuring when films and TV depicted the good guys in white and the bad guys in dark colours.  Seeing the Lone Ranger and Tonto rid the Wild West of the evil outlaws in their dark Stetsons and waistcoats you always knew the World was a good place.  Well in our technicolour, multimedia age the ability to spot right from wrong is more challenging.  Of course one bad experience and conspiracy theories abound about how everyone is out to be corrupt and rip people off.  Generally an experi

Britain’s architectural heritage is rich and varied. We are rightly proud of that heritage, and measures are in place to help protect it. In England alone, approximately 374,000 buildings are Listed, which mean any proposed alterations have to be approved by the planning authorities, who will consider them in the context of their special interest. While, we can all agree this worthwhile in the name of preserving unique buildings, it can also make maintenance of listed buildings complicated and expensive.

Last year was the worst year to be a leaseholder in living memory, and the situation for the UK’s 4.1 million leasehold flat owners looks set to be even worse in 2017. That’s the view of Louie Burns, Managing Director of leasehold enfranchisement specialists, Leasehold Solutions. A series of developments during 2016 has made it increasingly difficult for flat owners to exercise their legal rights, while the cost of doing so has also risen significantly. Mr Burns said: “It is no exaggeration to say that 20

QUESTION  The Leaseholders in a block of 120 flats in Bournemouth have a serious problem with an overspend on a Major Project. The original costings for this project was just over £1m but the overspend is currently over 40% higher (£410,000.00) and likely to rise even higher. The Leaseholders are at their wits end not really knowing what to do and the FTT have been consulted by the Managing Agents to see if the overspend can be justified. Have you any suggestions? ANSWER Major works disputes like th

Metamorph Law Limited have completed a merger with SLC Solicitors (SLC).   SLC is a niche practice serving professional commercial and residential landlords and managing agents from its base in Shrewsbury. Its founder and previous sole owner, Neil Shearing, becomes a consultant to Metamorph Law. This division of Metamorph Law will trade as ‘SLC Solicitors, part of Metamorph Law’.   Metamorph Law’s CEO, Simon Goldhill, commented: “We are delighted to have added SLC to our business. SLC is the recognised ma