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The 1989 case of Sella House Limited v Mears made it clear that provisions in residential leases purporting to make a tenant responsible for subsidising the landlord’s costs of pursuing co-tenants must be “clear and unambiguous”. The clause relied upon in Sella was not considered clear as there was no specific mention of lawyers, proceedings or legal costs. The lease simply permitted recovery through the service charge of the costs of collecting the rent and service charges, and employing professionals fo

Over the last nine months I have had a lot of conversations about the state of leasehold management. I have encountered the nuances of the soft side of management. When calls go unanswered; when information is not supplied; when the leaseholder feels they are not getting service are all the soft areas that are vital to the management process of a building.    Although I genuinely believe managing agents’ service levels have improved over the last five years, there will always be examples of poor service,

A new edition of the leasehold property enquiries form LPE1 - the standardised questionnaire designed to simplify and speed up the conveyancing process - was released on October 1.    The form has been amended to reflect changes in the Association of British Insurers’ agreements with lenders; provide better definitions and general wording; and include new questions aimed to reduce the need for additional enquiries, for example with regard to any transfer fees payable on sale.  A buyers leasehold informati

McCarthy & Stone has conducted a study exploring how retirement is evolving and individuals are moving away from traditional retirement habits. More than 2,500 retirees from across the UK participated in the retirement housebuilder’s “The Colour Report”, which looks at the differing opinions of three retirement age demographics: 65-70, 70-74 and 75+. The report highlights that the older generations shop in the same shops as their grandchildren, (21% at Primark, 14% at H&M and TopShop), listen to the same

Two in five Brits admit they don’t know their neighbours’ names and 12% reveal they have never exchanged so much as one word with the person who lives next door to them, according to a survey of 3,000 people.   The research, commissioned by broadband provider Hyperoptic, echoes a recent study by Neighbourhood Watch, in which more than half of people confessed they’ve actually hidden or delayed leaving home so they didn’t bump into their neighbours.   The new findings show that detached and semi-detached r

Property recruitment specialist Alice Cadfan-Lewis has used her experience to launch a niche talent resourcing company operating only within the block management area. Cadfan-Lewis, who has worked in the industry for more than 15 years, founded Block Recruit Ltd after spotting a gap in the market. She puts the company’s early growth down to an ability to focus on the sector’s individual components. “Block Recruit specialises in exactly that... block management,” she said. “We take the time to thoroughly u

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage change that is inevitable” -- William Pollard. 1993 witnessed a significant step forward for the World Wide Web in “CERN putting the web in the public domain... perhaps being the most important web anniversary” (Dr James Gillies: The WWW turns 15 (again), 2008). The ever-developing web continues to facilitate the improvement of communication. Considering how

Property consultancy GL Hearn has promoted five of its staff to the position of Associate Director. They include Jenny Billett, who joined the firm in March 2014 as Senior Business Rates Manager and following her promotion now undertakes the Rating Account Manager role for two key accounts. Krishanthi Carfrae, who is an Environmental Planner in the Infrastructure team based in Manchester, and has a dual role as a Planning and Environmental Impact Assessment expert, is promoted, as is Chris Pockett, who jo

Residents Insurance Services Limited, the specialist residential property insurance broker and part of the Gray’s Inn Estates property group, has appointed Afzal Kabiri to head up new business opportunities. Afzal has 11 years’ experience in the insurance industry as an underwriter with composite insurers including Aviva, RSA and Zurich. More recently Afzal worked as a wholesale broker specialising in property owners insurance.

Ninety-one chalets at a South Wales holiday park were let on 99-year leases, the terms of which were broadly similar across the park and each with a start date of 25 December 1974. Under the leases, the landlord was required to provide maintenance services such as the mowing of grass and removal of refuse on payment of a service charge by the tenants. For the first year in each lease, the service charge was £90; in the first 70 leases granted at the park, this sum could be increased by 10% every three yea

Changes to the tax system, designed to limit the advantage buy-to-let owners have over those purchasing their own home, will drive landlords out of the property market and push rents up. That’s the view of Karim Goudiaby, Chief Executive Officer of EasyRoommate, responding to changes announced by Chancellor George Osborne, including tax-relief on rented homes being cut from 40% or 45% to a basic rate of 20%, which are due to be phased in from April 2017. Goudiaby says the majority of landlords are in for

The Cadogan Estate has launched Cadogan Concierge, a complimentary 24-hour luxury lifestyle service offered across the entire estate of luxury homes and commercial offices. Cadogan Concierge staff will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with services offered including sourcing tickets to sold-out events, arranging personal shopping, organising wellbeing requirements such as nutritionists and personal trainers, and dry cleaning. A Head Concierge and Lifestyle Manager will be based at the Cadogan