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Housing and building experts will face many months of questions in the wake of the tragic Grenfell Tower blaze.   As the horrific images were being broadcast, the finger of blame was being pointed at the building’s recent refurbishment – where cladding that had been fitted appeared to fuel the flames.   The cladding is not the only question that the public and authorities will ask for the inquiry promised by Theresa May. The probe will need to answer the following:   Is there a need to retrofit sprinklers

A chilling blog written seven months ago by residents of Grenfell Tower claimed that only a “catastrophic event” would highlight the “dangerous living conditions” at the 24-storey block.   Survivors of the disaster told journalists that they had raised a host of concerns about the risk of fire – particularly that there was only one escape route – but they were “brushed away” by the council’s tenant management organisation.   They said fire risk concerns about the placement of boilers and gas pipes; the ab

Several people have been killed in a huge fire at a block of flats in West London. The tower block is 24 storeys high and contains 120 apartments. The fire started in the early hours of Wednesday morning. London ambulance service said they were called at 1.29am and 20 crews raced to the scene. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) have confirmed there have been “a number of fatalities” and at least 50 people have been taken to the hospital so far, according to London Ambulance Service. One resident said he only d

The former Housing Minister who had promised to drive through major leasehold reforms but lost his seat in the General Election has been appointed Theresa May’s Chief of Staff. As MP, Gavin Barwell had grasped his leasehold brief extremely well and was taking active steps to improve the sector and tackle some of its inherent injustices. He also committed to fully funding the Leasehold Advisory Service, so that it would no longer pursue commercial activities and instead focus on its original remit of prov

Sky have introduced a brand new, free-of-charge* solution making it even easier for residents to get Sky Q in their flat.  The new Plug-In Adapter also makes the process quicker and simpler for Managing Agents by cutting out the need to reconfigure the existing communal TV system. ·      The installation process begins when the resident calls Sky to request Sky Q. ·      The resident will then contact the Managing Agent regarding access to the communal system. ·      Once access is granted, a Sky approved

Amongst the shock results from the snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May, was the defeat of Tory MP and Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell. Barwell fully grasped his leasehold brief and often promised that the leasehold sector would not be forgotten. One of his key commitments was to fully fund the Leasehold Advisory Service which provides support to millions of leaseholders around the Country, so that it would cease the need for all commercial activity. It remains to be seen whether a newly app

Following 20 years in residential property management, IRPM Fellow Jonathan Channing has joined highly reputable maintenance and compliance contractor Masterfix. Asked why he made the move from managing agent to maintenance management, Jonathan replied, "Well, to provide such vital services to the property management industry seemed like a natural progression to me. I've always worked for the best companies in their class and certainly that is the case with Masterfix." Jonathan added:  "It's great to be

With a range of pressures squeezing margins, residential estate and block managers need to generate additional revenue streams. Building on the fact that customers are demanding higher levels of service, providing additional resident services would seem the obvious solution.   In this webinar, find out how block managers are using modern systems to both improve levels of service and branch out to generate revenue by providing value-added services to residents. Webinar | 10:00am - 10:45am | 28 June 2017

Abbatt Property Services, a property recruitment agency, have announced the launch of a new service called ‘Dual Management’. Aimed at Property Management Companies, Residential boards, and Developers who manage staff in the residential property sector, Dual Management is an outsourcing-of-staff solution. This solution allows Property Managers to focus on managing properties while Abbatt take care of hiring & managing on-site property staff, HR compliance & employment liability, and all administrative tas

QUESTION Could you please let me know if more than one Section 20 Notice can be issued in any financial year without contravening the regulations. We would like to amend our RA constitution to reflect our current ways of working, as the existing one has not been adhered to for several years (5 – 8). Any advice would be very welcome. We would like to adopt a simpler more modern way of working. ANSWER Section 20 (of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985) relates to consultation for either major works or qualifying

QUESTION Please could you let me know if I have to pay the management company to extend the Lease of my flat when I own a share of the freehold? ANSWER Many thanks for your query. Leases are extended either by private treaty (i.e. agreement between the parties) or pursuant to statute. Subject to meeting the qualifying criteria, you are entitled to extend your Lease by following the procedure laid out under the 1993 Act. This does require the payment of a premium, although premiums can vary wildly dependin

In Elim Court RTM Co Limited –v- Avon Freeholds Limited [2017] EWCA Civ 89 the Court of Appeal has come to the rescue of an RTM company in respect of “trivial defects” in the process of exercising the right to manage. What is the right to manage? The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“the Act”) gives long leaseholders of dwellings a statutory right to acquire management responsibilities in place of their Landlord via an RTM company. The main aim of the legislation was to allow tenants to acquire r