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Recent case highlights imperative for tenants to make early claim to freehold before landlords complete building works. Mansion block tenants often have to put up with their landlords undertaking building works to the common parts to which they object.  Examples of these include reducing the size of the entrance in order to enlarge or create a new apartment; using redundant storage facilities to similarly enlarge retained apartments; or attempting to create new apartments out of airspace on top of buildi

Most readers will recognise this scenario well. For some time you have received complaints from residents concerning the conduct of your concierge, ranging from his brusk approach to his failing to deal with post or your dry-cleaning. More recently, you have received a couple of written complaints asking for his outright removal reciting long standing matters but raising little new of substance. Is the answer to dismiss the concierge on the back of these complaints or is a different approach required? C

In any business, passing over information to clients is vital, not only to build rapport but for feedback and client retention. When you are spending your hard earned money as much information as possible is usually required to know if the spend is worthwhile. Why part easily with hard earned cash? It is great the property management industry has become more regulated; members of organisations such as ARMA strive to keep standards high and stay up to date with the latest industry news. One thing many p

The importance of a clear and definitive brief at the start of any major works project should never be underestimated. Briefs that are lacking in detail can lead to implications later on and subsequent changes can often lead to delays, increased costs and unhappy clients/leaseholders. All of this can be avoided by having a clear brief that all parties are signed up to from the start.   What makes a good brief? By way of an example, if a programme of external repairs and redecorations are required to a

The Tribunal Service was initially set up to provide a low cost way for parties to argue landlord and tenant disputes in front of an expert panel without the parties incurring the very high costs of full-on litigation. However, if you are unprepared it can be quite a shock. Make the right application While you may understand all about your problem the Tribunal will only know what you set out on the forms. There are several basis on which a landlord or tenant can apply, so read everything very carefu

Gas is fundamentally unsafe yet used all over the UK in both domestic and commercial premises, but over the past 26 years the Regulations, Registers and best practices have improved, reducing the number of gas related incidents and more particularly the number of fatalities has fallen dramatically. In an effort to make gas safe the Gas Safe Register was created, it is not a voluntary register – all gas engineers have to be registered! CHECK the register for your Gas Engineer – it could be a life you save

The Leasehold Advisory Service have produced this helpful quiz.    Please click here to complete the quiz.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published the findings and recommendations from its market study into the residential property management services sector in England and Wales. After consulting with consumer groups, leaseholders, the industry and government during the course of its study, the CMA found that overall, while the market works well for many leaseholders, some have experienced significant problems in a sector where total annual service charges are estimated at £2.5 to £3.5 billi

The winners of the Property Management Awards 2014-15 were announced on the 4th December 2014 at a prestigious ceremony and dinner in London. Best Managing Agent of an RMC/RTM Block Winner Urbanbubble   Manchester-based Urbanbubble provides a range of services to developers, landlords and residents, and aims to ensure residential developments are managed and maintained to the highest standards. Over the past 12 months, Urbanbubble has added almost 2,000 homes to its portfolio - a mix of new developm

Long gone are the days of “the bloke in the pub” who scammed a few dodgy cheques. Today, businesses are vulnerable to a new wave of sophisticated online bank fraud. According to recent press reports, there have been more than 500 cases resulting in losses ranging from £80,000 to £240,000 where professional firms have been targeted. Recent evidence suggests that over 82% of companies believe they are protected from fraud and that they “would never be the victim of fraud”, and 33% admit they would not know

Building surveyors have historically been employed to prepare what are widely referred to as planned maintenance programmes. Such plans have been based on the requirements prescribed in leases and the technical requirements of the property in question. For example, how often does the building need redecorating, when do communal boilers need replacing and when does the roof need renewing? The focus is usually based on the capital expenditure of such works with little or no consideration given to running

It hardly seems like a year has passed since the 2013 Property Management Awards. But it must have been twelve months ago as a group of us were discussing the rugby internationals at Twickenham. England had lost to New Zealand once again and the analysis of events at the rugby was that the best teams are defined by their ability to become more than the sum of their parts. Although chartered surveyors and rugby players tend not to have too much in common, both are more effective when working in well-mana