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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

The Home Office has confirmed the roll-out date of the Government’s Right to Rent policy in England. From 1 February, 2016 all private landlords letting property in England will be required to check the immigration status - or ‘right to rent’ - of prospective tenants before agreeing to establish a new tenancy. Announcements concerning the implementation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected at a later date. The announcement was made on the same day that the National Landlords Association (N

The Court of Appeal has again considered the question of “what is a house” for enfranchisement purposes. The ruling clarifies whether tenants of a residential apartment above a ground floor retail store can enfranchise. By law, the tenant of a house has the right to acquire the freehold of a property providing certain criteria are met (Leasehold Reform Act 1967). In that Act, a house is defined as: “...any building designed or adapted for living in and reasonably so called, notwithstanding that the buildi

News on the Block are proud to announce the finalists for this years Property Management Awards.   Winners will be announced on the night, 3rd December at a awards ceremony and dinner at Wembley Stadium!  If you have not yet booked your place, there only a limited number of tickets remaining, please book now to avoid disappointment: email ybo@newsontheblock.com   For more information, to SEE THE FINALISTS and to vote go to:  www.propertymanagementawards.co.uk

Bolt Burdon are pleased to welcome Leah Veasey, Gemma Hawthorne and Angela Alexiou to their growing leasehold reform team.     Darren Coleran, Partner and head of department adds: “The continued growth of the team has been necessary to meet the many and varied demands of our clients.  We hope within the next year to establish a national presence and to be recognised as a centre of excellence in the field of leasehold reform.  From service charge disputes to lease extensions and collective enfranchisement,

The head of property management at Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet LLPis receiving international industry recognition for her professionalism and outstanding performance.  Cassandra Zanelli has won “Best Residential Property Litigator – UK” at the inaugural BUILD Real Estate and Property Awards, announced last week.  The accolades celebrate people and firms whose responsibility it is to shape and steer the property industry worldwide. Cassandra was selected as best litigator in the UK by a panel of experts based

The shorter your lease - the less valuable your property may be. Not only will your property become less valuable but there is also likely to be difficulty in being able to sell it or obtain a mortgage on it. However, if you keep an eye on the remaining term then you can quite easily maximise your investment. It is possible to protect the value of your property by extending your lease. The cost of extending your lease and protecting your interest increases as your lease terms ticks away. It is therefore v

There's a lot of discussion about how best to manage mixed tenure buildings and this is intensifying as Housing Association landlords increasingly find themselves in charge of buildings with widely differing tenures and a broader range of expectations. In the HA movement we’re rapidly moving away from our traditional role of providing social rented and shared ownership homes. This trend will develop faster if current government policy towards grant funding continues (it’s now marginal in London). A key ch

It's simple. If there are arrears on the service charge account, then this means no cash to spend on managing and maintaining the building. If there is no cash to spend on the property, then the managing agent cannot spend what the building does not have. If the property manager does not spend on management and maintenance, then this means more people do not pay. But the situation can get much worse than that. If the property manager has not incurred expenditure, there will be an accounting surplus when t

A common bone of contention between landlords and tenants is the extent to which a landlord can recover costs of improvements to the building from tenants through the service charge. The answer is not always clear cut. The starting point is always the terms of the lease – does the lease allow the landlord to recharge the cost of improvements through the service charge? If not, and the landlord’s right to recover costs is limited to repair and maintenance, it is unlikely that the costs of an improvement, i