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Issue 90 of News on the Block is now available to view online.  This issue includes some of the following articles:  Nationwide's £54m Ground Rent portfolio  Tragic fire at Grenfell Tower Landlord loses Tribunal appeal Criminal landlords to be named and shamed Raising the roof will raise you cash: If you’re struggling to find the funds to upgrade your block, did you know that your roof could be the answer? Enfranchisement & Right to Manage Special Feature The practical points of RTM:

QUESTION I am the chairman of an Independent Leaseholders Association (10,000 RTB members) We have held regular monthly meetings for approximately the last eight years. My RTB (flat) lease dates from 1992. Since I do not wish to pass on a problematic legacy to my family on my demise, I have recently been negotiating with the council to purchase a 99 year extension to the existing lease. I was recently sent a draft of the proposed extension stating that the extension is granted under S 56 of the 1993 Act.

How hard do you imagine it would be to find your way out of your block in the dark if the lights had failed? Emergency lighting saves lives. Anyone living in a flat hopes they will never need to rely on it but when a major incident does occur, effective, well maintained lighting and signage is vital. In an article on emergency lighting regulation published earlier this year, I wrote: “Imagine how much more serious the worst-case scenario could become if your system is poorly maintained and doesn’t work pr

This guide to the key concepts is written by independent industry practitioners and includes the following articles:  Selling & buying a flat with a short lease: Iris-Ann Stapleton looks at the procedure The practical points of RTM: Stan Gallagher and Will Beetson warns of the issues that can arise  Elim Court: How wrong is right?  Mark Chick looks at a recent court case Rights of extension and purchase for leasehold houses:  There is legislation out there, says Liz Rowen  The 3% Stamp Duty Surcharg

Jovan Mihailovic and his wife bought their flat in Abbey Road, West Hampstead, 25 years ago – and by their own admission, an upgrade to both exterior and interior was well overdue. Like many communal freeholders, the Mihailovics and their seven neighbours balked at the £400,000 cost of the required work… until the answer came in the form of rooftop development. Jovan and the other freeholders appointed Apex Airspace, the market leading developer of “airspace”, who bought the roofspace above his block, hir

The management company of a block of flats has been told it can add legal costs to its service charge which it incurred after a tenant made empty threats to take it to court.   Bretby Hall Management Company (BHMC), which manages 30 apartments within a former country house in Burton upon  Trent, racked up £11,000 in costs when it was threatened by tenant Christopher Pratt.    Mr Pratt had made threats to begin several court proceedings for several years, but none were ever carried out. A first tier tribun

Criminal landlords and letting agents in London who exploit tenants are to be ‘named and shamed’ on a new online database in a bid to give protection to the capital’s private renters.    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that London Boroughs will work in partnership to build the database, which will be published on the Mayor’s website when it is launched in the autumn.   He believes that allowing renters to check a prospective landlord or lettings agent will give people more confidence in ren

A developer is to offer flat owners free Uber rides in their rent if they are willing to give up their parking spaces.    Moda Living will give tenants up to £100 in credit each month to spend on rides with the app-based taxi firm.   The company wants few or no parking spaces so it can free up space for other facilities such as gyms, cinemas and swimming pools. Moda Living’s managing director Johnny Caddick said: “The plans for a partnership with Uber will not only give our customers an affordable ride at

A landlord who argued that a 12-month contract with managing agents could be terminated within the 12-month period has lost an appeal against an earlier tribunal decision.   The upper tribunal in Corvan (Properties) Ltd v Abdel-Mahmoud [2017] UKUT 0228 (LC), backed a first tier tribunal’s (FTT) ruling that the wording in the contract meant it was a qualifying long term agreement (QLTA).   The landlord entered into the contract with the managing agents and the term was stated in Clause 5 of the agreement w

Anna Favre has been named the Real Estate Lawyer of the Year for the second year running in the Women in Law Awards.   A partner in the residential estate team at PG Law, which is based in Chelsea, Anna has scooped a host of accolades since qualifying in 2004, including News on the Block’s Hot 100 list in 2014 and 2015.

A city council that charged the leaseholder of a flat for improvement works to their block despite it being funded by a community energy grant has lost a court battle.   Sheffield City Council challenged an earlier tribunal decision in the Court of Appeal which ruled it could not bill the leaseholder for the cost of the work that had been covered by the grant, as it amounted to "double recovery".    The court heard that the council had overhauled blocks on two social housing estates, and had struck an £2.

Property managers must start to build trust with their customers and stop hiding behind the complexities of contracts, legalities and liabilities when dealing with tenants, a briefing paper has demanded.   The paper by property management group FirstPort Property Services was released last month for an audience of leading residential property management professionals.  Co-hosted with The Institute of Customer Service and Four Seasons Hotels, the meeting was told that property managers should shift the ser