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QUESTION I am a property owner and have just had notice from my property management company that they have been undercharging me due to them calculating the square footage of my flat. They are looking for 3 years backdated payment totalling around £1300. Please can you advise if this is lawful as backdating something this far as well as being their error does not seem correct? Please help. Thanks   ANSWER Section 20B(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that, “If any of the relevant costs taken

QUESTION We bought the freehold ground rent at auction in August 2015.  The lessees have a right to manage company. The previous freeholder has been taken to the Tribunal by the RTM company three times and the determination required the previous freeholder to pay the RTM company just under £5k. This amount has not been paid. Are we liable and what contribution can we seek from the previous freeholder? ANSWER We are happy to provide our initial advice in relation to this matter. There are a few points th

QUESTION I would be most grateful for your advice regarding the ground rent that has not been collected since we set up our Right to Manage Company (RTM).  We are very happy with the managing agents we appointed in 2011 but there has been a problem with the collection of the ground rent since that time, and it remains uncollected. The ground rent (£200 pa) was previously collected by the managing agents appointed by the developer in 2001.  We asked the new managing agents to take over the collection of t

QUESTION To what extent are directors of an RTM company (with joint freeholder status and fiduciary/ duty of care obligations) be liable for ensuring that their formal duties are indeed carried out fairly, properly and in the best interests of the company as a whole, and not readily abused by colluding managing agents, solicitors etc.. Has this basic principle been tested within any civil framework that may prevail and, if so, could you please refer to precedents that may apply in this connection? The iss

QUESTION   My landlord has placed an outside light 4 ft from my bedroom window, and it is so bright and intrusive. There are 2 lights there one opposite each other. It is only the one that shines directly into my bedroom that is difficult. It is the only one light out of 6 that is intrusive. The remaining omit sufficient light to make the area safe in the dark. Can I quote the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 re Statutory nuisance lighting. I live on a Thames mooring of 6 boats and 4 have bou

QUESTION   I am a leaseholder within a block of flats managed by local authority. I recently received notification that works for underpinning to 2 flats needs to take place this Summer and internal work relating to subsidence to four flats.  As this issue has been known by local authority at least since 2012 (I suspect earlier). Is there a time limit on bringing this type of work for leaseholders to pay? We are facing having to pay a subsidence excess via our insurance of £1,000 each.     ANSWER   It i

QUESTION   I am a freeholder. I took on a new block 6 months ago and did a routine internal inspection of all the flats 2 months ago. During the inspection, I noticed that a stud partition had been put up, altering a large bedroom into 2 smaller ones. When I asked the tenant whether he had obtained the freeholder’s permission to make the alteration, he denied having done the partitioning work – insisting that he bought the property like this 8 years ago. All the evidence contradicts what he says – citing

Directors of residential management companies often ask whether it is really necessary to use a chartered building surveyor when undertaking a major works project. Would you be better off dealing with maintenance on your own and asking building contractors to manage works projects? Certainly, you can ask different building contractors to quote for the works. But without a detailed specification, two different contractors might provide two very different estimates, based on their interpretation of the work

On 9th July there was the latest in the leasehold improvement roundtables hosted by Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick at Portcullis House led by Leasehold Knowledge Partnership. The purpose of these is to look at leasehold issues, and explore how and where to improve the issues and how to resolve matters. It is interesting how much time and energy is going into the search for how to make the leasehold market function better. The number of different organisations looking at professionalising the res

In this special feature, we identify the most influential people in the residential leasehold property sector. Included within the list is a mix of leasehold campaigners, Parliamentarians, trade and professional bodies, managing agents, building owners, investors, developers, valuers, and lawyers among others. Let us know if we missed anyone out by emailing  editor@newsontheblock.com Entries have been gathered subjectively according to our knowledge and experience of the industry and are arranged in alph

The amount of leasehold units being delivered seems to be higher than the amount of property professionals entering the sector to manage them. When recruiting, most clients will prefer candidates from similar-sized private businesses and one can understand how ‘like for like’ seems the best option. But there can be value in casting a wider net and looking at housing association candidates to cover the deficit. It is fairly well known that managing agents can have a cynical view of housing associations, bu

Lighting maintenance is a way to cut costs. It also protects assets and helps remain compliant. It’s an integral part of any block manager’s modus operandi and can make a profound difference to block lighting in particular. It’s obvious that regular checks, attending to problems as they arise and generally ensuring good housekeeping is uppermost on any ‘to do’ list, and is essential to proactive management. If a block manager has reliable teams, the job of maintaining any premises becomes a whole lot ea