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Countrywide Land & New Homes has been awarded Best New Homes Agency for a second year in a row at the Estate Agency of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Sunday Times.

Brooks Macdonald Funds Ltd is set to launch the IFSL North Row Liquid Property Fund, believed to be the UK’s first actively-managed UCITS core property fund, in February. It will offer investors liquid exposure to the global real estate markets by investing mainly in property derivatives, as well as property equity and debt, to gain exposure to direct property markets. The fund will be managed by Steven Grahame, who developed the original concept for the fund, supported by Dr Niall O’Connor as Deputy Fu

The impact on leaseholders of costs changes to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) system has been debated in the House of Lords. Last year, the LVT became the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), and the new tribunal has the power to award unlimited costs if a person has acted unreasonably in bringing, defending or conducting proceedings – replacing the LVT’s cost limit of £500. In the debate, on January 13, Baroness Gardner of Parkes said: “These charges, under the previous system, were limited

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is consulting about residential property management services in England and Wales. It is seeking views about the scope of the proposed study from anyone who uses or provides residential management services, including trade associations, property managers, consumer groups and individuals. The OFT is particularly interested to hear opinions on subjects including whether leaseholders feel they have sufficient involvement in decisions taken about appointing managing agents;

​QUESTION I have formed a residents association with the required constitution etc.. It has been recognised by the councillors of our ward, does this make it legal?  We have more than 50% of members on this private estate, and having terrible problems with the management. Name Witheld  ANSWER “Thank you for your enquiry.  Usually (although not always) a residents’ association will be formed by tenants or lessees who hold tenancies/leases from the same landlord which include provisions for the payment

What is the Right To Manage? The introduction of the Right To Manage (RTM) under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (the Act) gives leaseholders power in improving the management standards of their block.  Found in Chapter 1 of Part II of the Act, the RTM process, via the formation of a RTM Company, allows leaseholders to act collectively in the management of their block, from selecting contractors and service providers, to setting budgets and service levels, even to selecting a managing agent t

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