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In a decision that will undoubtedly be applauded by the property management industry, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has found that a landlord may recover the fees of its managing agents, in connection with a claim, by leaseholders, to collectively acquire the freehold of a block, under Part 1, Chapter 1 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing & Urban Development Act 1993. The case concerned a block of 63 flats (and four commercial units) in central London. The leaseholders in the block served a notice on t

As the number of regulatory disciplinary cases against companies grow, so does the responsibility to maintain compliance at the property level. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has emphasised its tough approach to enforcement along with its drive to achieve “credible deterrence” – and its activity over the past year is certainly consistent with these intentions. 2013 showed a 50% increase in fines imposed during the previous year and 24 firms were fined a total of £467 million. 17 separate disciplin

Everyone who knows about property understands the importance of a Planned Maintenance Programme (PMP). Regular, carefully planned maintenance of a property is essential to minimise deterioration and ensure the building serves its purpose and retains its value over time. A good PMP covers everything from structural checks to redecorating and gutter clearing. This not only prevents any unpleasant and expensive surprises when things unexpectedly go wrong, but when a group of leaseholders are collectively r

2014 saw many ups and downs in the sector and 2015 promises many more. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) Market Study released in December 2014, which surveyed leaseholders’ opinions on property management services, made recommendations for improvements to the sector which will have broad consequences for all. The report shows that the CMA considers the service delivered by Property Managers to be effective and efficient, but nonetheless recognised that there were issues concerning the level o

Residential lighting  is vital to the safety and wellbeing of everyone using any building. Having been through a prolonged period of austerity, every management group, housing trust and council wants lighting to be efficient, innovative and environmentally friendly. This is quite a tall order for the humble light bulb. So is there a solution that will deliver all of this and cut costs? By bringing in specialists in lighting solutions vast financial and energy savings offering extraordinarily rapid retur

The British Property Federation (BPF) has criticised the Government for not widening the scope of the Flood Re scheme to include those who live in leasehold flats. In its response to the consultation it ran last year on Flood Re regulations, DEFRA has indicated that it will include properties in council tax Band H in the scope of the scheme. Although this has been welcomed by the property industry, there is disappointment that the Government has not gone further. Flood Re is the agreement struck between

It was a familiar scenario during the recession: a developer built a new block and then, when they couldn’t sell all the units as hoped, decided to cut their losses and rent out the unsold flats on an assured shorthold tenancy basis. Where the block has subsequently been part of a Right to Manage process, the RTM company can then find that the service charge percentages for the estate are not adding up to 100% – and that they are facing a growing deficit in collections. There is no lease to enable the u

A landlord will sometimes charge for items of expenditure which are not service charges. Since the introduction of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002) these charges have become regulated (to some extent). The act defines an “administration charge” as “an amount payable by a tenant of a dwelling as part of or in addition to the rent which is payable, directly or indirectly” for one of the following: Costs associated with the granting of approvals under the lease or considering appl

Delta Security has installed a new door entry and CCTV system into Rotheley House, a supported-living housing development in Hackney, helping residents who suffer from mental health issues and learning difficulties to manage their own security and to live independently. Following an assessment of the property, Delta upgraded the door entry system to an isolated digital video entry system using the latest Videx Kristallo colour apartment handsets. These provide users with clear video images of visitors. T

A new report from Harrods Estates has revealed a property price plateau centred on the famous department store. State-of-the-art computer modeling was used to produce a hot spot map of sales values and volumes within various walking times from Harrods, and the results showed significant jumps in property value the closer a resident lives to the Knightsbridge store. The average value for all residential properties sold between 2011 and 2014 within a five-minute (360m) walk of Harrods was £2,149 per sqft

The average home in Britain increased in value by £15,191 over 2014, equivalent to £42 a day, according to property website Zoopla. Average property prices across the country have risen by an average of 6% over the past year to £268,895. However, the majority of house price growth was seen in the first half of the year, with prices having only risen by 1.4% since June. London has continued to lead with average property values growing by 15%, an increase of £81,619 over the last 12 months. The South East

The combined cost of buy to let (BTL) mortgage repayments in the last 12 months is £21.9bn, according to the UK’s the National Landlords Association (NLA). Approximately one million landlords in the UK have some form of BTL borrowing, with the average cost of their mortgage repayments in the last year £20,950. These figures, which exclude upfront deposits of typically 25 per cent of property value, emerge shortly after the Bank of England announced a high of £8bn of BTL lending in quarter three of 2014.