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Service Charges are close to the hearts of many of us working in the property management industry. They are the lifeblood of any development. Payments are made by leaseholders to the landlord in exchange for services and it is a reciprocal relationship - many landlords are not-for-profit resident management companies, for whom service charges are their only source of income. The services landlords are required to provide, such as repairs, cleaning, insurance and management, can only be undertaken when lea

It can be tiresome to keep repeating the phrase “read the lease”. But that does not make it any less correct. In Clacy v Sanchez [2015], the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) considered the contractual procedures for the recovery of service charges, which fall to be observed under the terms of a lease. We saw the importance of following the contractual mechanism for recovery in Southwark L.B. v Woelke [2013], where the landlord had billed service charges for major works separately from routine or annually re

From the date it acquires management, a RTM Company has the right to step into the existing landlord’s shoes under the terms of the leases in order to collect service charges from the leaseholders. However, in some circumstances a RTM Company might find it is unable to recover historic service charge arrears and other costs leading to a serious hole in its budget. When a RTM Company acquires the Right to Manage, it is entitled to all of the service charges held by the landlord in the service charge accoun

Terms and Conditions, management agreements, terms of appointment: call them what you will; without a written agreement in place with your RMC client, you are leaving yourself open to unnecessary levels of risk. We come across many different forms of terms and conditions but, surprisingly, we find that a considerable proportion of blocks are managed without any kind of written agreement. And this isn’t just a problem for the smaller managing agents. Without terms of appointment, you are effectively acting

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