Featured Articles

It is a well-established principle that parties in litigation have a right to set off claims against each other. For example, if a defendant owes a claimant £300, but the claimant owes the defendant £100, then the claimant will only be able to recover £200 from the defendant. The sums are ‘set-off’. In a property management context, if a landlord has failed to comply with its obligations to repair, a leaseholder may wish to set off any damage against the service charge he owes. Whilst useful for lea

There are many different steps that can be taken to prevent service charge issues from arising. If issues do arise then there’s still a lot that can be done to nip them in the bud. Making a claim or defending a claim in the County Court or the Property Tribunal does not have to be the inevitable when instructing lawyers. There are rarely any true winners when cases disputing service charge end up at a contested hearing. Here’s what we think you should expect: Verified data None receipt of demands

How much can landlords charge for consent fees and will they get away with it? The question was recently looked at by the High Court in relation to a large Docklands development. The tenant was selling off several of its 42 flats, which were held on 999 year leases. Under the terms of the lease, the tenant was required to obtain the consent of the landlord (which was not to be unreasonably withheld). As a condition of the consent, the landlord required payment of all the arrears plus an administration f

It is one of the sector’s favoured clichés that leaseholders need greater education. Although the rest of the world seems to find owning a flat relatively simple, leaseholders in England and Wales are unique in not quite understanding what it is that they own. So the sector is all for a bit of education to put them straight: that they are tenants, not real homeowners, and that they need to pay their bills on time and without argument. But the sector is a good deal less enthusiastic about the advance

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Negotiator Conference on the subject on the changes in the housing market which prompted an interesting reaction. Asking how many of the estate agents were aware of the Information for Leaseholders sheet which should be given to all prospective buyers there was not a hand in the room which went up. Not one of the attendees was distributing the document. For the leasehold market to deliver fairness and evenness for all will require the buyers to know what th

Over the years we’ve told you what we do and know you’re aware we maintain gates, barriers, roller shutters, entry systems, automatic doors, indeed all manner of access control. But we’ve never told you about some of the amusing incidents that have occurred during our maintenance visits. Of course, possibly the most enjoyable anecdotes to relate would be rather too lascivious to feature in this magazine, so we’ll keep it clean for 2016. Security in large public spaces increasingly relies on CCTV and w

As 2016 comes to a close, the case law developments from the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) continued at a brisk pace throughout the year. The highlighted decisions below will, no doubt, continue to be cited by legal practitioners, landlords, leaseholders and other interested parties for some time. 23 Dollis Avenue (1998) Ltd v (1) Vejdani (2) Echraghi [2016] UKUT 365 (LC): The Upper Tribunal considered the meaning of s.20 LTA 1985 where a landlord had failed to comply with the consultation requiremen

The RICS and Macdonald & Company Rewards and Attitudes Survey 2017 is now live. Again we have partnered with News on the Block and the IRPM to gather metrics that are specific to residential block management. Last year was the sectors first inclusion in the survey and we had a great response and we hope to do even better this year. Last year’s metrics were very London-centric and this was due to low responses in other regions. If you are in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and you want to have a greater unde

QUESTION    ll the lessees of a conversion have the Freehold and Right to Manage of a block of 6 small flats in an old Tudor style building, and one of the tenants has installed a TV sky satellite dish on the front wall of the building without permission.  It is very unsightly and in mid-August we wrote to him nicely explaining that he was in breach of his lease and requested that he remove the dish by  the end of September.  That deadline passed without any communication or action, the dish remained in p

If you ask a thousand landlords what happens to service charges when a property is sold, odds are the majority believe arrears will pass to the new buyer.   This is not necessarily the case. The case needs to be considered for: Old tenancies (those granted before 1 January 1996); and New tenancies (granted on or after 1 January 1996) OLD TENANCIES: Prior to the assignment, the assignee (incoming tenant) has neither privity of estate nor privity of contract with the Landlord.  There is no rea

It is not uncommon for leaseholders to be unhappy with their service charges, whether it be because they are too high or they do not feel it is value for money. Leaseholders often believe that exercising their Right to Manage under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 will solve this problem, but is this really the case? The RTM company effectively steps into the shoes of the landlord. Therefore the RTM company will be responsible for complying with the contractual provisions of the all the l

We are delighted to announce the Winners for the Property Management Awards 2016. The winners were announced on the 1st December at an awards ceremony and dinner at Wembley Stadium. Thank you to all those who attended - you made it a magical, unforgettable night! Over 730 braced Wembley's doors making it our biggest PMAs yet and what a night it was. Our fabulous circus came to life with our amazing aerial artists and band, Get Funked but most importantly, the night was all about our attendees, finalist