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Leaseholders of a large block of flats in Derby recently demonstrated the importance of landlords and managing agents maintaining accurate accounting records and being able to suitably evidence the reasonableness of service charges as well as the services provided. Having set up their own Right to Manage Company under the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002, acquiring the management of the block because of unsatisfactory site conditions and fee levels, and having appointed a new managing agent to assi

As we know, the RTM process is a means for qualifying leaseholders within a block of flats to take over the management of their block. At the start of the process the RTM company has to serve a Claim Notice on the landlord. The landlord must then respond by serving a Counter-Notice to either accept or oppose the claim. A recent case R (Twelve Baytree Ltd) v Rent Assessment Committee highlighted the financial implications of a last-minute change of heart by the RTM company. The original RTM claim was bro

The facts of the case The case of The Keepers and Governors of the Possessions, Revenues and Goods of the Free Grammar School of John Lyon v Sacha Warren George Helman [2014] concerned a period house at 18 Hall Road Maida Vale, owned by the John Lyon’s Charity. The charity’s freehold is subject to a lease which was acquired by Peter James in 2002. The lease was subject to a mortgage and the mortgagee granted a sub-charge to another bank who could appoint receivers with wide powers to give notices in t

Section 88 of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002 makes provision for the recovery of costs incurred in connection with claims to acquire the Right to Manage. The starting point is s.88(1), which entitles any recipient of a claim notice to recover any reasonable costs incurred by the recipient “in consequence” of that notice. Unlike the corresponding cost recovery provisions in enfranchisement cases, the liability is broad and generic in scope. [extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] Those costs are reco

Qualifying long leaseholders of flats are entitled to establish and join a Right to Manage Company through which they may take over management of their building. But there are some potential problems and complications which need to be considered. Funding the RTM company How does the RTM company cover its running costs (company secretarial fees, company accounting costs, etc)? Many RTM Companies just put these through the service charge. It’s very unlikely that this is lawful. Most leases allow for the

Housing associations are facing a number of tricky issues around service charges as they move towards funding affordable housing through the private sale of leasehold flats in large mixed tenure developments. Detailed attention must be paid to the design and specification of the kit that is likely to take a battering - such as entrance doors, lifts and flooring. When you throw the different perspectives and objectives of developers, architects, sales teams, property managers and residents into the mix it

New tenants at east village, the former Athletes’ Village used for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, are to benefit from hyperfast broadband. Private rental residents within the new neighbourhood in London E20 will have access to fibre broadband with top speeds of 1,000Mbps, over 56 times faster than the UK average of 17.8Mbps (according to Ofcom). East Village welcomed its first residents at the end of 2013. As part of a number of amenities that form their service package, the village’s private re

Liz Peace, has announced she is to resign shortly as Chief Executive of the British Property Federation. Liz, who has held the post of Chief Executive since January 2002, plans to spend more time with her charitable and non-executive interests. She said: “Over the last 12 years I have had an incredibly happy and fulfilling time looking after the interests of the property sector. I know that the BPF has been able to change for the better the way our industry is perceived within the legislative, planning,

Insurance brokers Bluefin Group has appointed Adrian Potter as Branch Manager of its Bournemouth office. He joins the company from Deacon Insurance where he was Sales Manager, having previously worked for A-One and HSBC Insurance Brokers. Adrian will report to Andy White, Bluefin’s Regional Managing Director for the South, and his appointment is part of a strategy to raise the firm’s profile in the region.

Morpheus, the London design house and development management company, has appointed Alun Dawson as Head of Development Management. He will lead the development management team, working closely with the design team to provide a design and development service for both UK and international clients. Alun began his career with Carillion Plc, working on projects including The Bromptons in Knightsbridge. He has also worked for Capita on a variety of ultra-high net worth residential projects, as well as corporat

Savills has revealed details of its survey into the ground rents market. Among its key findings, the survey reveals that there has been strong demand for ground rent investments over the past 12 months from a wide range of investors, with lease terms of over 80 years being the most attractive in terms of length. Investments that are linked to Retail Price Index are the most favoured while terms with fixed review patterns offer the least appeal to investors. Furthermore, a higher interest environment coul

Low and mid-rise buildings cost considerably less to construct and maintain over their life cycle and have more longevity than a high-rise housing solution. That’s the view of Nigel Franklin, Partner at property and construction consultancy, Calfordseaden LLP and development and research contributor to the Create Streets initiative. Nigel’s studies show that over a 100-year life cycle, a terrace of town houses could cost 50% less to construct and maintain over its life compared to a flatted block providi