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QUESTION Dear Sir Do you know of any courses for property management? Jackie Cooke ANSWER Yes, News on the Block runs regular training sessions about issues relating to the ownership and management of residential buildings. See the Events page on our website for further details.

Is your block of flats underinsured? What are the indicators of possible under-insurance and, if under-insured, what are the consequences? 1. THE SUM INSURED IS BASED ON THE MARKET VALUE The market value is the MARKET value not the sum insured for insurance purposes, which should include the full cost of rebuilding to the same specification as existing in accordance with current regulations and allowing for demolitions and fees. The market value and the rebuild cost are often significantly different

Cheapest is not best. Buying a product purely on price is a strategy fraught with danger. Recent press coverage of cheap beef products not being beef is a really good example. What you see is not always what you get. This is also true of insurance products. Management Companies and Managing Agents should be wary of internet providers, high street brokers and marketing specialists offering off the shelf products sold purely on price. Insurance Companies are in business to make profits for their shareholder

A year ago block insurance was a messy business for most concerned. Insurers were claiming to be losing money and then increasing policy excesses to preserve their profitability. Our water table hit record lows and, whilst we were all prepared for the inevitable hose pipe ban, loss adjusters geared up for a dry summer and an explosion in subsidence claims. And then it rained, and rained, and rained. Unfortunately, yet again, a large number of households were impacted by the floods of 2012. The good news,

Sometimes it is confusing to Leaseholders when they suffer a loss and find the building insurer says the damaged items are not insured and they must submit their claim to their contents insurer. The most common type of insurance claim for residential blocks of flats is for water damage where water from a flat above leaks into your home. The easiest way to differentiate between what can be claimed on the buildings policy and your contents insurer is to think: “If I move could I take this with me?”. The

Until The 1990’S insurance policies included damage by terrorism. Following incidents in London, insurers were no longer able to purchase the reinsurance cover they needed to protect themselves against potentially catastrophic losses so were threatening to exclude these risks completely. The Government stepped in to provide the insurers with the reinsurance cover needed to enable them to continue to provide the cover but it now had to be bought as a separate policy. MISCONCEPTION 1: Why don’t the i

One of the biggest challenges within this industry is being able to satisfy and manage owners’ expectations of their perception of what a property management company should provide to them against the reality of what they are contracted to provided to them. Often there is a huge variance between these two factors. It never ceases to amaze me as to how poorly informed owners and Directors (RTM companies) are over these expectations and it would often seem that they have made their largest purchase/inve

The Supreme Court decision in Daejan Investments Limited v Benson covers the circumstances in which the LVT can dispense with the consultation provisions pursuant to Sections 20 and 20ZA of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“the Act”). For the facts of the case, see the news article on the front cover of this issue. JPC Law represented one of the Respondent Leaseholders. In his judgment, on behalf of the majority, Lord Neuberger makes clear actual prejudice to the tenant must be identified; a failur

Forsters Solicitors have recently won an instruction from the iconic world leading ”home of dance music and the world’s best nightclub” Ministry of Sound in relation to the proposed development of a 41-storey residential tower block directly opposite the club.  Concerned that the development will lead to noise complaints from residents and, ultimately, the loss of their licence and closure of the club, Ministry of Sound has campaigned tirelessly to safeguard the future of the club, which employs 200 p

Law firm Winckworth Sherwood is advising the UK’s largest housebuilder, Barratt, on the acquisition of Cannon Wharf, a major redevelopment site in Surrey Quays in London’s Docklands.  The site will see the construction of 679 homes, including 117 affordable homes, together with 70,193 sq ft of retail and commercial space. The development scheme will see the construction of nine housing blocks, including two towers 20 and 23 storeys high, an on-site nursery together with outside play-space and resident

The Rt Hon Keith Hill, the new Chair of ARMA-Q (the self-regulatory body for ARMA members), recently spent the day with award winning Kent managing agent, AMAX estates. During his day, Keith inspected a local site and toured AMAX Estates’ offices, which included spending some time with the accounts department, block management team, their  apprentices, firm surveyor and the founder and owner, Maxine Fothergill. The exercise was part of Keith’s induction to the property management industry as he and hi

Sussex-based Right to Manage Federation (RTMF) has successfully assisted the leaseholders of a multi-storey London residential apartment development – Metro Central Heights - to win the biggest Right to Manage (RTM) case the UK has ever seen. Metro Central flat owners were motivated by wanting more control over decisions and expenditures and despite many flat owners living overseas, 248 out of 422 leaseholders supported the RTM application.  RTMF’s Nick Bignell commented: “It’s a brilliant example