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This day last year at the News on the Block Property Management Awards I spoke about the pipeline my son's friends were aiming to build to get water for the first time to 18,000 people in Ethiopia and we watched a video.    Well today we signed the contract to start building it this month   So a big round of applause and a thank you from the MediOliver Foundation. To find out more about the MediOliver Foundation and to support them please click here.   Mary-Anne Bowring, Ringley Limited

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 fee of £1,250.  The tenant paid without any complaint on the first flat.  He then

Rebecca Heeles joins Earl Kendrick’s Major Works team led by Henry Grant. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying, and already has extensive experience in the public and private sectors, as well as a passion for the historic built environment. She is particularly skilled in Contract Administration and preparing specifications and tender documentation,as well as undertaking building inspections. Away from work, she enjoys playing sports and spending time with her family. Rebecca looks forward to being

The UK’s largest property management firm, FirstPort, has appointed Mandy Ferries as the new Director of Human Resources. She will lead and support FirstPort’s 3,200 members of staff based at sites across the UK. Mandy joins from Amazon, where she supported the company’s international human resources programme responsible for European customer service, as well as other global HR projects. Prior to Amazon, she was Head of HR for JD Wetherspoon Plc for nearly 10 years providing HR support for 25,000 employe

Case law developments emanating from the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) continued at a brisk pace during 2016. The highlighted decisions below, set out in no particular order, will continue to be cited by legal practitioners, landlords, leaseholders and other interested parties for some time and remain reference points for the foreseeable future. Willow Court Management Company (1985) Ltd v Mrs Ratna Alexander [2016] UKUT 0290 (LC) The Upper Tribunal listed three appeals together in order to consider, for

ARMA (the Association of Residential Managing Agents) set out its stall for the future at its 21st Annual Conference held in the iconic Grand Connaught Rooms, London, on 10th November 2016. Moderated by journalist and broadcaster Joshua Rozenberg, and attended by 670 property management professionals, the event has grown to become the residential leasehold sector’s largest annual gathering. The theme for the day “Raising Our Voice” reflected the Association’s ambitions to increase its brand awareness, mai

QUESTION We manage a block of flats in South Manchester.  One of the owners has been jailed for several years and his wife remained in the flat.  However, we have received no service charge since he was sent away (he used to pay us cash each half year).  The property is not subject to a mortgage. We have gone down the usual route of asking our Solicitor to obtain a ccj for service charge arrears but he has discovered that the police have put a proceeds of crime restriction order on the title.  He says

QUESTION I am a director of a company set up by the leaseholders of two blocks of apartments on a single site in Nottingham.  The Company purchased the freehold in 2007. Block A, is a conversion with 30 apartments. Block B, is a new-build in 2000 with 28 apartments.  The developer was Crosby Homes, (a subsidiary of the Berkeley Group), and no longer exists. Block B was fitted on construction with a burglar alarm system. There is a system of wiring throughout the building which is the responsibility

Essential guide to insuring blocks of flats and 10% off insurance premiums for apartment blocks with Kerry London Are you a member of a residents’ association for an apartment block? If the answer is "yes" you need to understand your responsibilities for insuring your block against risk exposure. - As officers of a management company you may consider protecting yourselves against legal costs to defend your interests with Directors’ and Officers’ cover. - You probably know about buildings insurance and mat

QUESTION I am a leaseholder of a flat for which the freeholder has appointed a managing agent.  The managing agent is paid to provide the usual full range of services. In the event of there being matters that need to be attended who do I approach in the first instance?  The managing agent or the freeholder? ANSWER Where a landlord has appointed managing agents, this means that the day to day management of the building moves away from the landlord to the managing agents. Therefore, all issues such as repa

Developers might assume that the answer is to simply pack flat leases with the appropriate development rights. Unfortunately the case of Snowball Asset Limited v Huntsmore House (Freehold) Limited [2015] UKUT 0338(LC) has shown this may not be sufficient protection. Developers may be surprised to hear that for example express rights reserved by the flat leases were ineffective in the face of the way in which the scheme had been marketed for sale originally. This case demonstrates the need for freeholders

12 months ago Colin Horton, who is the Managing Director of Under 80 Ltd set up the Young Leasehold Professionals Association. 12 months later and the group now has over 220 members and has hosted a number of hugely successful networking events. The events are not your standard networking events, they offer the guests not only free drinks but a relaxed and informal atmosphere which is key for building the long lasting business relationships that will shape the leasehold industry in the years to come. Howe