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A leading law firm is warning land owners to protect their interests when it comes to renting sites for telephone masts and also to be cautious of ‘independent’ advisors offering advice on the subject. There are more than 50,000 phone masts in place across the UK. For many landowners or landlords with small pieces of unused land or roof space, installing a phone mast proved a welcome and easy source of additional income over recent years. But the telecoms industry is currently in a period of significant

There are around 3,000 benevolent funds in the UK, all of which offer vital support for the needs of members in the profession that they represent. Services offered by benevolent funds range from financial support, to counselling, debt and legal advice, volunteer support, and career advice. The challenge faced by these funds, however, is encouraging individuals eligible to access their services, to and ask for help. People either do not know they have a benevolent fund they are eligible to access, or do

As the new FTT system has bedded in, the FTT has embraced the new wasted costs rule and has been quite proactive with its powers. Under the old LVT rules, the maximum costs order was £500, which was arguably little deterrent to the vexatious litigant. On July 1, however the LVT in England became a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), and brought with it a new set of powers - of which one of the most significant is the tribunal’s ability to make an unlimited wasted costs order against anyone that it fe

It is common practice in most modern leases to include a clause allowing the landlord (or management company) to recover costs for additional services or costs that might not have been contemplated when the lease was granted but that the landlord might later wish to recover. This is what is known as a “sweeping up“ or “sweeper” clause. The sweeping up clause may appear in various parts of the lease and is not always obvious from a casual reading of the lease. For example, it may be in the list of chargea

Around 30 years ago a new form of homeownership came into the property world - shared ownership. This new scheme came with a shelf life as the leases being granted were generally given for 99 years. The private residential property owner is very aware of the problems caused by short leases. The cost of extending these rises over time, particularly as the lease term drops below 80 years and marriage value becomes payable, but for a shared owner the problems can be magnified. Mortgage lenders have traditi

The greatest value a building surveyor can add to a Major Works project is not the level of technical detail they have amassed. It is true that they can’t get by without qualifications and expertise. They need to be technically perfect (as should every professional). But surveying work and contractual obligations only actually account for about 40 per cent of the time surveyors spend on a typical major works project. The other 60 per cent is spent on diplomacy. Any major works project is defined by a numb

Contract administration is the term most often referred to when building surveyors are talking about major capital expenditure works such as external renovation projects or internal common parts refurbishments. Most property managers will be familiar with the term but there will be many RTM directors and freehold management company directors who are not and whom do not have a building, property or construction background. The term “contract administration” is rarely mentioned when a client is considering

When Frank Dobson and Nick Raynsford first proposed a statutory ‘right to manage’, the intention stated in their white paper was that leaseholders would be able to take over the management of their properties as a legal right ‘without the need to go through a tortuous and potentially expensive legal process’. Ten years on, however, it can still be difficult for genuine RTM claims to succeed. But thanks to the dogged determination of 39 elderly leaseholders of Regent Court, Plymouth things may be about t

It is apparent that with an increase in acquisitions and mergers in block management more buildings are being managed by national agents, without a traditional, physical, local office. This can only result in a reduction of quality in the services provided. The only way in which to effectively manage buildings is through close proximity and regular supervision of them. This could be achieved by an agent imposing a maximum travel time between its properties and its office of, say, 20 minutes. Also, in ord

Just in case you have missed it, the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 came into force on July 1. The change follows on from the restructuring of the Courts and Tribunals services by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. That Act created a new judicial and legal framework bringing together many individual Tribunals into a new, unified structure. The old Rent Assessment Committee, Rent Tribunals, Leasehold Valuation Tribunals, Agricultural Tribunals and Adju

Winning a new management contract poses an exciting challenge, however there are a number of employment issues to consider. TUPE, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 has a reputation for according very little with common sense and for throwing up last minute obstacles. There is (regrettably) no magic wand to wave to simplify TUPE - there are procedures to be followed and rules to be adhered to – but those aside, there are also a couple of key practical points that we

JANUARY In January, a High Court decision in the case of Phillips v Francis caused widespread concern throughout the industry. The then Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Andrew Morritt, ruled that, without appropriate dispensation, all qualifying works in a building are subject to consultation in advance if they will cost any flat owner more than £250. Critics said this could lead to delays for leaseholders getting essential works done, as well as rising management fees, plus uncertainty for landlords on