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Your essential guide to major works.  Some of this features articles include: Considering your major works project  Major works restore block to art deco elegance  Upgrading broadband in your block of flats as part of a major works project Advice for landlords, management companies and managing agents on sending our service charge demands Your essential guide to major works. Independent industry practitioners offer some advice in our comprehensive pull out an

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In March 2012, the Planning and Housing Committee of the London Assembly produced its report into service charges, Highly Charged. News on the Block meets the London Assembly Member, Steven O'Connell, who led the report and is determined to make leasehold life better. NOTB: What motivated you to start the Review into residential leasehold service charges? SO’C: It was informed very much by case work and contact I’ve had, personally, with constituents over ten years of public life and also anecdotal ev

Section 20b of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 provides that if any costs taken into account in calculating a service charge were incurred more than 18 months before the demand for payment is served; the lessee is not liable to pay those costs. The correct amount must be stated in the demand. A subsequent corrective demand for an increased amount will be unenforceable if it offends the 18 month rule (Paddington Walk Management v Peabody Trust). With regard to payments on account, the lessee will not

At first glance, it may seem that Garside (1) Anson (2) v RFYC Limited (1) Maunder Taylor (2) (“the Frognal case”) has potential to open the floodgates, enabling tenants to avoid payment of service charges by relying on grounds of affordability. This could have far reaching consequences. What would the ‘affordability criteria’ consist of? How would managing agents cope with increased scrutiny of budgets? Would the process of obtaining landlords consent to assign become more rigorous so as to pre-empt af

If there was ever a sorry tale of how property can go bad when leaseholders and a freeholder fall apart, Frognal Court is it. For 40 years the buildings have gradually drifted into deterioration and no one has benefited. Chainbow became involved with Frognal Court because of the fissure between the various parties. The approach to resolving the problems is getting all the parties on the same side of the table and working together. However, after a long period of division this will take time. Chainbow’s me

Nell Gwynn house is a classically designed 1930’s Art-Deco Style 10-Storey block of 430 apartments located in the heart of Chelsea. Over two summers, a potentially highly disruptive major works project was undertaken. However, the project was completed on schedule, within budget and without causing unnecessary disturbance to the residents of one of London’s most prestigious blocks. Phase one of the works was undertaken during the summer of 2010. This involved the removal of the existing heating boilers.

It’s understandable why the phrase “major works” can strike fear into the heart of the most experienced property manager. But when there is work to be done the best approach is to think about how you can use this opportunity to install other services in order to plan for the future and maximise the return on the disruption. One area that may not have initially come to mind is broadband installation. Today, broadband is one of the fastest moving industries in the world. The consumer appetite for speed and

QUESTION Dear Sir I am writing for help regarding sinking funds. We pay a very high service charge but now over 2 years later we are being asked to pay towards a sinking fund. There are 167 apartments and we are being asked to pay up to £950 a year extra. I thought the developers set up a sinking fund and the owners paid into it as part of their service charge. We’ve had numerous service charge increases in 2 years. We pay part of the security team and other staff not needed. We have finally got a

Janet Entwistle has been appointed Chief Executive of Peverel following its recent sale. Janet has held senior roles in services businesses most recently role as Managing Director of BT Fleet, which operates from a national network of sites and which she built into one of the UK’s leading fleet management companies.     Paul Lester CBE has been appointed as independent Non-Executive Chairman. Paul has a deep background working within British industry, most notably as the Chief Executive of VT

Former Daily Mail Property Editor, Sebastian O’Kelly has joined the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP) as a Director. LKP was founded by leasehold campaigner, Melissa Briggs, and aims to promote best practice in leasehold property management.

Dawna Hewitt has been appointed Operations Manager at the IRPM for a three month period, following the departure of Caroline McKinnon.