Featured Articles

The Government has held a consultation on ways of making it easier to get recognition for a tenants’ association. Former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, sought the opinions of parties including leaseholders, landlords, freehold owners, managing agents, and trade or representative bodies during the consultation, which ran from March until May 22. There are two ways of seeking formal recognition of a tenants’ association. Recognition can be given by a landlord or,

QUESTION For my leasehold flat I receive Service Charge demands which bear the name of a management company but not the name and address of the landlord or freeholder The managing agent says it does not have to provide the name and address of the landlord or freeholder as the Service Charge money goes to the management company and not the landlord or freeholder. I thought that under Section 47 of Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 any written demands must bear the name and address of the landlord. Please can

QUESTION Can you advise whether it is legally required for a flat owner in a block of flats to have home contents insurance? The reason I ask is that a leak occurred a while ago from a boiler in a top floor flat causing a small but significant ingress of water into the flat below resulting in minor damage to the ceiling (coving and water stains). The owners of the top floor (which is a let flat) say that they have no contents insurance. Would it depend on whether the flat concerned is furnished or unfu

QUESTION We are a block of 36 studio flats in South West London. The block was erected in 1962 and is facing rising maintenance problems due to its age. We have money in the sinking fund, but due to extensive work needed to modernise the block this will deplete most of it. We have already raised levies for double glazing the windows and a new boiler, so another very large one will not be popular with the owners. Can we borrow money from a financial institute to create a large sinking fund? We own the fr

QUESTION We are 5 flat owners who have just obtained RTM. Our building consists of the 5 flats and a take away food outlet which the freeholder owns and rents out. Are we, the lessees, allowed to obtain buildings insurance ourselves, in spite of the commercial element, or does the freeholder have to arrange the insurance. We took him to the Tribunal in 2012, 2013 and 2014 because of excessive insurance premiums which included a large commission. The 2015 insurance is just as excessive so we want to arran

QUESTION I had a leak caused by an Housing Association tenant, living above my flat. Do I have to repair before I can claim, I have sent them an invoice but they are doing everything not to pay up. Should I repair and then ask for the refund.   ANSWER I will deal with some general legal points first, before answering your specific question. Although this will depend on the specific facts of the case, which are not clear from the enquiry, it seems that you may have a claim against the Housing Associat

QUESTION Can my landlord charge me for work he did for cash and no receipt was shown to us? Can my freeholder charge me for Directors liability insurance? ​The freeholders have a very large loan with the freehold as guarantee​.  Can my freeholder charge me for work they did personally (gardening) with no invoices or receipts. I have a 125 year lease, I live in a group of 6 and 4 of the leaseholders own the property as a freehold. ANSWER 1.    Can my landlord charge me for work he did for cash and no r

QUESTION Following receipt in 2007 of a Section 5 Notice under the Landlord and Tenants Act 1987 on a mixed tenure estate comprising thirty leasehold flats and thirteen freehold houses twenty of the qualifying leaseholders decided to purchase the estate freehold. They became shareholders of a company set up solely for the purchase, but not management . With the split of ownership and contentious freeholders, however, the task of being landlord has been one long story of strife. We, the Directors, now wis

QUESTION ​W​ith foreign owners now subject to capital gains tax over the valuation of the property after April 5th how should these properties be valuated? Is there any specific process or evaluators picked by the UK tax authority?​​ ANSWER The Tax Office looks for a formal valuation under the Red Book by a Certified Valuer. That Valuer must  determine the market value of the interest in the property as at the relevant date incorporating any tenancies, licensees or any other factors that might influenc

QUESTION Can the directors' insurance referred to below as featured in ‘25 Things Every Flat Owner Should Know” be charged back to the service charges account? “11: The risk of personal liability can be protected by purchasing the appropriate directors’ and officers’ insurance policy."   ANSWER The short answer to your questions is that it depends on the terms of your individual lease. Each lease will set out the expenditure that can be recovered from the service charges. Some leases will allow for

Homeowners who are planning to commision building projects must now ensure they use a contractor that adheres to new construction rules. Changes to the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) come into effect on April 6. This piece of legislation aims to reduce accidents during construction projects via good design, planning and co-operation, and also specifies legal requirements on site safety standards and for the provision of welfare facilities such as access to toilets. If homeowne

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) 2005, which came into force in October 2006, charges the responsible person in control of non-domestic premises and the common areas of a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) with the safety of everyone in the building, whether working, visiting or living there. This duty of care includes the provision of emergency lighting. Legally every block or building needs emergency lighting. The appropriate standards have to be adhered to, but what often gets overloo