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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

ARMA has confirmed the appointment of Noella Morton as its new Head of Operations, the first of two appointments following announcement of Michelle Banks’ retirement. Noella will be responsible for the day-to-day management of ARMA, the overall performance of the organisation and delivery of its services to members. ARMA’s Chairman, Martin Perry, commented: “I am delighted that Noella decided to enter the external recruitment exercise that we undertook to fill this position. “Noella has extensive exper

FirstPort has won the contract to manage Quintain’s Emerald Gardens, the latest phase of residential at Wembley Park. It will include more than 470 residential units including professional market rental, affordable housing, commercial units, a screening room, a club room and a gym. The first residents are expected to move in during spring 2016. In total more than 5,000 homes will be added to the area as a whole. Nigel Howell, Chief Executive of FirstPort said: “We’re already heavily involved in assistin

The property management contract for the iconic, modern Embassy Court on Brighton seafront has been awarded to Harper Stone, the Brighton-based company founded by Chris Brotherton in 2013. Brotherton said: “After a year of discussions, meetings and presentations with Bluestorm, who own the building, and adding the key personnel required to deliver the effective management of Embassy Court, we have received the news we were hoping for - the instruction to take over the freehold management contract.” Emba

Property investment and development company, MCR Property Group is to use Propman, the property management and integrated financial accounting software solution from Grosvenor Systems, in a bid to streamline its property management and accounting processes. The group was looking for a way to efficiently collect and collate information from a range of internal and external sources and bring it together as part of one central resource, from which standardised reporting and other processes could be run. Da

The British Property Federation (BPF)  has announced the creation of a new committee that will focus on promoting the emerging build-to-rent sector to government and other stakeholders, including consumers. The committee, which will be formed as a subset of the BPF’s residential committee, will be chaired by Andrew Stanford, UK Residential Fund Manager at LaSalle Investment Management and former head of the Government’s Private Rented Sector Taskforce. Adam Russell, Acquisitions Manager at FizzyLiving, w

The qualifying 
period for the Government’s Right to Buy programme, which allows many council tenants to buy their home at a discount, has changed to three years from five years. The change, which came into effect in May, was introduced through the Deregulation Act 2015.