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Chancel repair, the legislation dating from medieval times that allows churches to turn to property and landowners with an historic connection to a church to fund repairs – may yet have a sting in its tail for homeowners. Church councils across England have until 13 October 2013 to register any potential liability to fund the repairs of a church’s chancel. Church councils will not be able to register a chancel repair liability against the title of a property sold after that date, meaning that the buyer c

CPBigwood has acquired DMA Chartered Surveyors based in Eastleigh, Hampshire. The purchase gives the Midlands-based group a foothold in the south that the firm’s board intends to grow. DMA Chartered Surveyors specialises exclusively in residential leasehold property and manages around 3,000 apartments and houses. CPBigwood partner Brett Williams, who led the negotiations, said the acquisition took the number of properties managed by the firm to over 20,000 across 30 counties. “We already look after arou

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AIG) has acquired the Giles Group of Companies (Giles), for £233 million in cash. AJG recently acquired Deacon Insurance, the specialist blocks of flats insurance broker. Giles is an independent retail insurance broker, controlling and influencing gross written premium in excess of £750 million. The firm’s business also includes the insurance of blocks of flats. AJG International CEO, David Ross said: “This transaction represents our largest ever deal in the UK, by some margin

Winckworth Sherwood has been appointed by A2Dominion New Homes as its lead law firm to manage the sale of new homes at Gunmakers Wharf in East London. A2Dominion New Homes is part of the A2Dominion Group, a market leading provider of high quality housing in London and the South East. Gunmakers Wharf, comprising 121 units, sits alongside the Hertford Union Canal and Victoria Park in the East End of London. Ruth Barnes, Partner and Head of Winckworth Sherwood’s Plot Sales team, said: “A2Dominion has trans

Cardinus Risk Management has been granted Certification in accordance with the new BAFE SP205 scheme for organisations that provide Life Safety Fire Risk Assessments. This means that companies commissioning Fire Risk Assessments from Cardinus can be confident that the services are relevant and of a high standard. James Truscott, managing director of Cardinus property division, said: “The granting of the BAFE scheme SP205 award, in addition to our existing affiliation with the Institute of Fire Engineers,

Despite, the fact that two thirds of Brits think they’re paying too much for their energy bills, a new survey shows that many of us are still carelessly wasting huge amounts of energy and heat from our homes. Three quarters of the 2,040 UK adults questioned by Anglian Home Improvements said they are frustrated by the year-on-year increase in energy costs, yet 13% admit they have the heating on when they are not in the house and the same number confess to opening windows when the heating is on. In fact, 1

Residential Management Group (RMG) has been appointed by fledgling property developer, Sherrygreen Homes, to manage ‘The Link’ - a prestigious boutique-style development located on City Road in London.  In addition to the normal responsibilities associated with being a Managing Agent, RMG’s Customer Contact Centre (CCC) in Northwich will initially operate as Sherrygreen Homes’ customer service department and be residents’ first point of contact for repair issues. Deborah Davis, Residential Sales Manager

BSI, the UK’s National Standards Body has recently launched the BS 8544 Guide for lifecycle costing of maintenance during the inuse phase of buildings. The costs that are involved in maintaining buildings after they have been through the construction process are often not fully realized, and this applies up to 90% of buildings that exist currently. This new guidance enables facilities managers, quantity surveyors, clients and owner operators to run their operations effectively and helps them estimate the

Mark Prisk MP has been removed as the Housing Minister following the recent Government reshuffle. He has been replaced by Kris Hopkins MP who has been made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, essentially downgrading the role from a frontline Government post. Mark Prisk MP had a professional property background, formerly being a Chartered Surveyor and had sought to firmly grasp some of the key residential property challenges such as regulating property management an

A new standardised procedure for buying and selling flats will speed up property transactions, and avoid the complications and expensive delays previously experienced by buyers and sellers of leasehold properties.  The Leasehold Property Enquiries Form, or LPE1 is a standardised questionnaire which has been developed and approved by the Law Society, RICS, ARMA, the BPF and the other major trade bodies in the property industry. It will capture in a single format for the first time, information about a pro

To attempt to try and define what a lease is and what and how many different types of leases there are, would pose both an academic and philosophical challenge to most experts and professionals.  Both professional lawyers and the professional lay person alike, equally face up to such a challenge in dealing with leases either practically in their day to day business activities or come across them when attempting to resolve a dispute between the parties involved. Echoes of debates can be heard and are bein

With Green Deal making the headlines on a regular basis, it is easy to get caught up in the negative stories and miss the benefits. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a legal requirement on energy suppliers to provide funding for the installation of energy efficiency measures. Whilst designed to underpin the Green Deal’s Golden Rule, this funding is also available to support the installation of measures outside the Green Deal – for example it can be used to fully fund cavity wall insulation for blocks