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Scott Tyler is to become Senior Partner of Allsop, with Neil Mackilligin set to stand down as a Partner in March 2016. Tyler, currently Managing Partner of the commercial side of the business, has been a Commercial Investment Agent for over 23 years, eight of which have been at Allsop; the previous 17 were at Savills. Mackilligin, who will retire after over 35 years in the real estate industry, will continue to work with the Commercial Auction Team as a consultant for the foreseeable future. He said: “Sco

Savills has expanded its Prime Estates team with the appointment of Jonathan Channing as a director. Channing, who will lead the block management service, has over 15 years’ experience in property management and joins Savills from Farrar Property Management. John Dyer, director in Savills Prime Estates team, said: “We are delighted Jonathan will be joining the team to focus and further strengthen our block management service. “We have seen a growing demand for this provision and believe that Jonathan’s st

Hometrack, which supplies data and analysis to support decision making in residential property, has made a number of new hires. Alex Rose has joined as Managing Director of Data Analytics. He previously worked for Zoopla and Rightmove, and has 12 years’ experience of working with home builders and housing associations. Ross Allan joins as the public sector Business Development Manager. He has 12 years’ experience working with housing associations, local authorities and support providers, and will play a k

Following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Triplerose Ltd v Broomfield Road it is now law that an RTM company can only manage premises comprising one single building or part of a building. The Right to Manage Federation (RTMF) says it has evidence some landlords are now threatening enforcement action to prevent RTM companies continuing to manage multiple block estates. The RTMF estimates that hundreds of RTM companies throughout England and Wales may be in operational jeopardy. The Federation therefor

A big rise in the number of London tenants with dogs, combined with a lack of supply of flats whose head leases allow pets, is resulting in huge premiums on deposits (up to £25,000+) for properties which do allow them, according to a survey by E J Harris. Ten years ago, none of the lettings firm’s London tenants had dogs, rising to 2% five years ago, and steadily increasing to 30% this year. However, 40% of all Prime Central London flats do not allow dogs because it is written into the head lease. Homes a

A new form has been launched which standardises the information requested when a leasehold property is sold. The standard form, to be known as LPE1 has been backed by a wide range of industry bodies including ARMA, the Law Society and the RICS. Law Society President, Jonathan Smithers explained: "It is important that buyers have a proper understanding of the financial commitment they are taking on when they buy leasehold property. I hope that wider use of the new version of the enquiries will assist the s

The Law Commission has launched the consultation into ‘event fees’ within the leasehold sector, referred to at the Parliamentary Roundtable organised by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership. The Commission’s interest was sparked by the perceived unfairness of ‘exit fees’ in the retirement sector. This consultation looks costs incurred when a specific event arises, with charges ranging from 1% to 30% of the property value. Event fees include “transfer”, “contingency”, “deferred-management” and “selling-serv

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) has been approved by both the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team to offer alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to consumers and traders acting within the property sector under the new ADR regulations which came into force in October. It is already law that property agents must be a member of a government-authorised redress scheme. Now all traders operating within the property industry must signpost their consumers w

News on the Block are proud to announce the winners for this years Property Management Awards. The winners were announced on the 3rd December at an awards ceremony and dinner at Wembley Stadium. Please save the date for the Property Management Awards 2016 – 1st December 2016. Watch out for some new and exciting developments for next years event! Issue 82 of News on the Block will contain a special Property Management Awards feature. Please contact us to make sure you receive your issue or for any adve

In order to be Sky Q ready, a block of flats with a Sky communal TV system will need a simple system upgrade to the communal TV system.  Sky will arrange a free survey and providing there are no additional costs involved then the upgrade will be free, subject to survey. A Sky Q ready upgrade is an enhancement to the existing communal system where a DSCR (Digital Single Cable Router - switch containing Sky Q –Ready technology) switch is fitted at the head end (Location of switches and other equipment) allo

The British Property Federation (BPF) has welcomed plans laid out by Chancellor George Osborne to create a National Infrastructure Commission, which will be chaired by former Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis, sitting as a cross-bench peer. Melanie Leech, chief executive of the BPF, said: “Infrastructure is absolutely crucial to attracting the investment that is needed to regenerate the UK’s towns and cities and create growth. (The) announcement is therefore very welcome, and we hope to see swift decision

The landlord community has hit out at delays in the introduction of new laws making it compulsory to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in private rented homes. The legislation, due to be introduced on October 1, 2015, provided local authorities with the power to fine landlords who fail to comply £5,000. However, the House of Lords rejected the draft legislation at its final stage on the basis that the proposed introduction was less than three weeks away, that the Government had not done enough to i