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Chestertons Polo in the Park 2014, was held in April 2014 at a glamorous sponsors’ reception held at the exquisite Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. Some of the world’s most respected players attended the reception, including crowd favourite George Meyrick, who will be captaining City AM Team London; Oscar Mancini, the legendary Argentine captain for Air Europa Team Buenos Aires; and four time winner, Jamie Morrison, who returns this year for his sixth Chestertons Polo in the Park, as captain of Team New York

We were instructed by the leaseholders of a building converted into two flats who wanted to acquire the freehold, pursuant to section 26 of the Leasehold Reform, Urban Housing and Development Act 1993 (1993 Act), on the basis that the landlord was missing and/or could not be found. Two individuals jointly held the freehold of the building as tenants in common. The leaseholders had on many occasions and over a period of several years attempted to locate the landlord and written to various addresses they h

As a landlord or RTM board you will at some point likely face the prospect of facilitating the internal common parts refurbishment of your block. Appoint a surveyor, prepare specification, tender the works, appoint contractor and off you go. But what if there is the requirement to re-wire or install a new fire alarm system? Do you need a services consultant as well to deal with these aspects? It is possible that the surveyor incorporate electrical design into a specification particularly where there is m

On 22 January, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Bolton v Godwin-Austen [2014]. The decision was in favour of the tenants. The Court revisited Burman v Mount Cook Land Limited [2002].* The case has been a ‘wake-up call’ for landlords and their advisers in relation to the drafting of counter-notices under the 1993 Act. 17 Clarges Street is a substantial building in Mayfair. There was a head lease in favour of St. Anselm Development Company Limited. Each of the flat underleases included the

A common complaint of tenants is that their property has been badly managed and/or the landlord is collecting excessive amounts of service/administration charges. To deal with these problems, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) has the power to appoint a manager and/or receiver to manage the property instead of the landlord or his agent. The right can be exercised pursuant to Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. The role of the manager The manager appointed by the FTT is not appointed to favour the

The latest house case has confirmed that the issue of what constitutes a “house” under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 is going to continue to test judges. It concerned two derelict buildings on the Meyrick Family Estate in Bournemouth. They were acquired by Brightbest Limited at auction from a housing association in 2008. The first building was originally constructed in 1876 as a private dwelling house and had been used as such until 1927. The second building was a coach house to be used in connection wit

London managing agents Managed Living Partnerships (MLP) today announce that they are one of the first three managing agents in the country to have achieved accreditation to ARMA-Q, the new regulatory regime for residential leasehold managing agents. Their accreditation puts them at the leading edge of best practice in property management. From 2015 flat owners who use ARMA-Q accredited agents to manage their property will be guaranteed a number of safeguards including: Higher professional standards an

Property repairs software provider Fixflo has won the hotly contested category of Lettings Supplier of the Year in the prestigious Lettings Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times and The Times. The Fixflo system which helps tenants to accurately report repairs in any of 40 languages and speeds up the repairs process was commended by the judges for being a ‘unique and innovative product’ which has been rapidly adopted across the Lettings industry. Rajeev Nayyar, Managing Director o

QUESTION I live in a large block of flats (160) and we currently have a Tenants Association. We have had a long period of having a receiver and manager of our building due to the fact that in the past tenants felt aggrieved at the way the freeholder was running the building. At long last, we seem to be in the last stages of managing to purchase the freehold, which will be owned by a special purpose vehicle, the current leaseholders being shareholders. The directors of the company purchasing the freehold a

If both the flat owner and the freeholder do nothing further and the lease simply ‘runs out’, the flat owner will not have to leave the flat as the lease will become what is known as an ‘assured tenancy’. This type of tenancy is different from the ‘standard’ domestic rental agreement (the assured periodic tenancy, or ‘AST’) as it has far greater security of occupation for the tenant and the rent is effectively subject to statutory control, and the parties will have to apply to a rent assessment committee

Whereas the “oak” anniversary to commemorate 80 years of marriage is a celebration that only a few lucky couples will enjoy, you may however be fortunate enough to be one of many people who own a flat on a lease with more than 80 years left to run. If so, you’re in luck. This is because the cost of your new lease will be appreciably less than for an equivalent flat held on a lease that has 80 years or less unexpired. The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 provides flat owners with

SCENARIO You are a qualifying leaseholder – that is to say, you have been the registered owner of a flat for more than two years – and you own a lease that has 61.5 years remaining. Your financial advisor advises that you should extend your lease before you re-mortgage. You live in a large block of flats (it could be a small block), and you are aware that other residents bought the freehold several years ago. Your neighbours say that they have a share of freehold and the freehold company is actively loo