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A leading provider of retirement housing management services has been given top accreditation for the way it delivers information to  people who are considering  moving home. Millstream Management Services (MMS) has achieved the EAC Quality of Information Mark for every one of the 134 developments it manages. The EAC “QI Mark” accreditation is a kitemark that helps promote and celebrate all forms of retirement housing. Supported by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), it ensures that

Property management  companies are being urged to sign up to the UK’s first ever apprenticeship pilot in housing and property  management, which will benefit the industry “hugely”. A collaboration group has been formed by property management firm Rendall & Rittner, who is spearheading the pilot after championing apprenticeships through the Trailblazer scheme. The group will deliver a new Level 3 Apprenticeship Pilot Scheme in Housing & Property Management in line with the government’s  standards. Apprenti

Leaseholders are now able to apply to courts and tribunals for an order to reduce or remove their liability to pay a landlord’s professional fees as administration charges after changes to housing laws. Under Section 131 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, courts and tribunals will be given a discretionary power to limit the ability of a landlord to recover the fees.

Flats are fast becoming the property of choice for consumers and make up nearly a quarter of all housing in the UK, new research has found. Unsurprisingly, the highest share of flats are found in London, which make up more than half (54%) of all the housing in the capital. The study, by Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit (AMU), was commissioned after Royal Mail noticed the number of flats – known as multiple residencies – added to the Postcode Address File (PAF) surged by 18% from April to December last

Earl Kendrick Associates are delighted to announce that Martin Barsley has agreed to continue at the company in the more senior capacity of Technical Associate. This promotion reflects both Martin's depth of experience and expertise, and the invaluable role he already plays in the development of the business. In addition to using his expertise to help clients with Building Surveys, Insurance, Licences to Alter and Commercial Property matters, Martin is a wise and trusted mentor to our graduate recruits, a

Residential managing agents need to be aware that BEIS, the government department now responsible for overseeing the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations, is stepping-up enforcement activities – and the scale of non-compliance, whether it’s unintentional or deliberate, is staggering. Under the duty to provide notification of any district heat network or communal heating scheme, a massive 80 percent of submissions have apparently contained errors. Now BEIS is giving some of those who made those

Tenants’ associations will be able to increase their membership and the chance of wielding more power thanks to new laws. Secretaries of associations now have the right to seek contact details of other leaseholders in a shared block – as long as those leaseholders have agreed to their information being made available. The new powers have been introduced under Section 130 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and could lead to membership numbers of associations rising, which increases their chances of statu

A housing association that put residents at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning during building renovations has been fined £8,000. Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership Limited allowed chimneys that acted as gas flues for adjacent properties to be removed from buildings on two occasions. An investigation by the health and Safety Executive (HSE) into both incidents revealed that when the chimney removals took place no risk assessments were carried out to identify the risk of poisoning. Inspectors also fo

An organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance about residential leasehold and park homes law is looking for volunteers.   LEASE has been providing the service since 1994 and all of its advisers are legally qualified.  If you want to volunteer to use your knowledge and expertise as part of a supportive team of like-minded people, contact volunteer co-ordinator Ibraheem Dulmeer on 0207 832 2500 or you can email volunteers@lease-advice.org

Donald Trump has become the United States’ first apartment block developer to be elected President – but not everyone is so keen to be associated with the name!   Residents at Manhattan’s luxurious apartment complex Trump Place have successfully campaigned to have the name of the complex changed. The tenants at the Riverside Boulevard building in New York’s Upper West Side petitioned landlord Equity Residential urging it to “Dump the Trump”.   An online petition explained residents were “embarrasse

A software firm and a utility management company have teamed up to help block managers save time and money by outsourcing the administration of their utilities.   Qube Global Software has partnered with Block Management Utilities (BMU) to create a network of software and service providers that will deliver better deals and improved service to customers. Block managers who sign up will be able to hand responsibility for energy bills relating to communal areas of their blocks, such as lobbies, lift and comm

Developers who use hidden clauses to ramp up ground rents have been warned to help homeowners who are stuck in homes they can’t sell by the housing minister, who has promised to ‘stamp out’ the ‘unacceptable’ abuse of the leasehold system.    The housing minister has pledged to “stamp out” leasehold abuses that has led to some homebuyers facing spiralling ground rents after being locked into lease contracts.   Gavin Barwell also demanded that developers come up with solutions to help those householders al