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Solicitors at Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet LLP are inviting property professionals from across the UK to the first major social housing conference to be held in the North.  The firm is hosting the Social Landlord Leasehold Summit in its home city on May 14 to provide essential information about property managers’ responsibilities and liabilities.  Taylor&Emmet is organising the one day event in conjunction with Arden Chambers, London-based barristers specialising in local government and housing, along with

QUESTION We have one block with 21 apartments in it, with seven apartments in each segment. Two segments (14 apartments) are all leaseholders while the other belongs to the freeholder where he rents out six of the apartments and lives in the seventh. All the leaseholders, when they purchased their apartments, were told by the freeholder that there were three visitor parking spaces for use by the leaseholders. This is the reason why a lot of the leaseholders bought into the complex. This has now been wi

In recent years there has been plenty of coverage of floods and storm damage, but this has drawn attention away from the more common risk of ‘escape of water’. Rather than a large flood, it’s a leaking pipe or kitchen appliance that poses the greatest threat. An analysis of a sample of 400 claims over a three-year period found that 65% of all claims were for escape of water. This type of water damage often arises from problems with any tank apparatus, kitchen and bathroom appliances, or pipes and is the

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) has issued further guidance on unfair fees being charged by letting agents to consumers. A report issued by the PRS last month revealed that of the complaints about agent members raised with the scheme, the most common grievance involved unfair or excessive fees being charged to the consumer. In England and Wales, letting agents are able to charge prospective and existing tenants for services and administration in addition to any rent or deposit paid. Such practices are

The Government has published amendments to the Deregulation Bill that will extend existing restrictions on a landlord’s powers to evict. The measures include protecting tenants against the practice of retaliatory eviction, in instances where they have raised a legitimate complaint about the condition of the property and a local authority has issued a notice confirming that the repair needs to be carried out to avoid a risk to health and safety. Ian Fletcher, British Property Federation Director of Polic

Estate agents delivering poor levels of customer service will be forced out of business by 2020 as a result of the growing number of quality, online based agencies emerging in today’s market. That’s according to Henry Sherwood, MD of The Buying Agents, who says high street estate agencies can no longer afford to charge high fees and deliver poor customer service. Sherwood said: “We are seeing an emerging trend in the growing number of sellers who opt for an online agent as a result of their own buying e

Legislative changes are coming into effect which will impact how energy inefficient properties in the private rented sector can be legally let. And the financial costs associated with these changes could prove significant for landlords. In the next three years the regulations, recently announced by Energy and Climate Secretary, Ed Davey, will require all private rental properties to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard - an EPC rating of at least ‘E’. If ‘F’ and ‘G’ rated properties are not upgraded

It is usual for either the landlord or Residential Management Company (RMC) to be under an obligation to place a policy to insure the structure of a building that is multi-let.  This obligation is usually dictated by the terms of the occupational lease granted in respect of the apartment and the lease will define the insurable perils to be covered by the policy. The practical operation of the insurance policy and claims handling administration can pose a number of challenges for managing agents.  Agents

New rules have been introduced to promote professional standards within the pest control industry. Members of trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) must now meet strict criteria relating to their professional credentials. Simon Forrester, Chief Executive of the BPCA, believes the decision will help raise the bar both for members and their customers in the housing industry. He said: “The pest control sector is awash with people who are not true specialists in the field and that can creat

Government action to crack down on nuisance calls and aggressive cold-calling would provide a significant boost for small businesses. That’s according to call answering service alldayPA, which says some companies being targeted with as many as 30 cold calls a day. The firm says the significant increase in such calls is becoming a real problem for business owners, wasting time and therefore money as well as tying up lines needed to service customers. It is encouraging frustrated businesses to add their v

All limited companies must have articles of association. These set the rules company officers must follow when running their companies. They also regulate the rights of shareholders and are vitally important, particularly in the absence of a shareholder’s agreement. However, when the development of a new build block of flats is underway or when tenants launch a collective claim to acquire the freehold, the articles of association of that freehold owning company are unlikely to top the priority list. As

Chartered building surveying practice, Lc Building Consultants has launched a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) service, which uses drones to survey building elevations in real time. Clients will be able to use the Ascent service in areas including those where access would otherwise prove difficult or prohibitively expensive. It provides a unique perspective for Condition Surveys, Dilapidation Surveys, Roof Surveys, Defect Inspections and Specification Compliance jobs, and is an alternative to existing a