Featured Articles

Get the answers to your questions and stay up to date about apartment building management with our featured articles and NOTB guides, on topics such as service charges, right to manage, buying your freehold, major works, building insurance and other issues about blocks of flats.

Former Tonbridge night club development site for sale with Watling Real Estate

Watling Real Estate has been instructed to sell a part-built residential development in the popular and historic town of Tonbridge in Kent. It is on the former site of SOS, Tonbridge’s only nightclub in the Hub Creative Space, which also housed a gym. Jamie Lamond and Tom Colyer in Watling Real Estate’s London office have been appointed to sell the development, which was owned by Avebury Avenue Ltd, on behalf of joint receivers Martyn Ewing and Adam Stephens of Evelyn Partners. Offers are invited for the

Accessibility in Rental Housing

Leaders Romans Group (LRG), one of the UK's leading property services firms, has released its Q3 Lettings Report, revealing a high demand for accessible features, including among tenants who do not have a disability. As the UK population ages and awareness of inclusive housing grows, the need for accessible homes has grown. The LRG report indicates that a substantial number of tenants see value in rental homes with accessibility features. Nearly 40% of tenants surveyed expressed a preference for lateral l

Wildheart Residential Management Strengthens Senior Management Team with New Technical Director

Bespoke managing agent, Wildheart Residential Management has appointed James Capper as its new Technical Director. With recent changes in legislation through The Fire Safety Act of 2021 and Building Safety Act of 2022, James will prove instrumental in providing expert direction for ensuring building safety and compliance is achieved for homes in Wildheart’s well maintained portfolio. A key aspect of James’ role will be to spearhead the training of internal teams on building safety matters, in the knowledg

Leasehold And Commonhold Reform – Government Statement Confirms Timing and further reforms

Background   The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received royal assent in the wash up just prior to the election.   It included some of the changes around the rights of leaseholders of flats and houses to obtain extended leases and the freehold that The Law Commission had recommended, i.e. providing for leases to be extended by 990 rather than 90 years, doing away with the need to have owned for two years to qualify for an extended lease and bringing more buildings within the right to enfranchi

Keyfix plays key role in the construction of stylish new apartment buildings in Wandsworth

As one of the UK’s leaders in the manufacture of Non-Combustible Cavity Tray Systems (NCCT), Keyfix was recently contracted to work on a £190m new build project in Wandsworth, London. The Smugglers Way project, overseen by McAleer & Rushe, involved the construction of 554 build to rent and affordable apartments across 13 blocks.   With over 11,000 metres of Non-Combustible Cavity Trays, 4,000 pre-formed Corner Units, 5,000 Reveals and 45,000 Non-Combustible Weeps required, McAleer & Rushe sought Keyfix’s

Preim Bolsters Teams to Support Growing Partnerships and Communities in 2025

Estate management company Preim, part of the Encore Group, has spent much of 2024 investing in its team and communities with a series of new appointments and internal promotions to strengthen its commitment to delivering high-quality estate management services.  As the company looks ahead to a busy 2025, this investment in both new talent and the development of existing team members underscores Preim’s dedication to supporting its partners and the communities it serves. In response to existing and forecas

Watling appointed to sell major portfolio of six residential developments across Yorkshire

Watling Real Estate has been instructed on behalf of joint administrators from Interpath to sell a major portfolio of six residential development sites across Yorkshire that will deliver a further 167 new homes. Rob Cruikshank, associate director of Watling, has provided further background on the three main sites in the portfolio that are located in York, Leeds and Barnsley. James Clark and Howard Smith from Interpath, the joint administrators of Scotfield Group Ltd, Yelcon Ltd and Camstead Ltd, trading a

John Byers reflects on 30 years of LBB Chartered Surveyors

John Byers, co-founder and director of LBB Chartered Surveyors reflects on 30 years in business. On 1st December, LBB Chartered Surveyors celebrated 30 years of business.  I still remember joining a previous iteration of the company as a young building surveyor in 1988, never imagining that all this time later I would still be here!   I know everyone at LBB greatly appreciates the clients we have worked with and those others in the profession we have known and become friends with over these many years. No

Energy bills rising? Save £38 by running your dishwasher at night

As winter approaches, Brits can expect rising prices as households are already being warned of a 10% rise on energy bills, to an average annual energy bill of £1,717, 41% higher than in Winter 2021/22. Simple tweaks, along with a switch in meter could save you up to 50% on your energy bills this winter. With this in mind, Confused.com energy’s experts have provided their insight into how to maximise savings with an Economy 7 plan. What is Economy 7, and how does it work? It’s called Economy 7 because you

Understanding and observing the Golden Thread

The concept of the ‘golden thread’ under the Building Safety Act 2022 is often perceived as complex and daunting, but it fundamentally revolves around ensuring that the right information is available to the right people at the right time.  This principle is vital across all design stages, from the initial concept through to the delivery and construction process to ensure that duty holders identify, understand, manage, and mitigate building safety risks throughout a building’s life-cycle – in essence it’s

Sama submits plans for 31 new apartments in Sparkbrook, Birmingham

Sama Investment Group, a Birmingham-based developer and investor, has submitted plans for new 31 residential apartments and three spacious commercial units as part of a mixed-use regeneration scheme known as Highgate Corner on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre.   Located to the north of the iconic Balti Triangle, the proposals would see the transformation of a vacant brownfield site to deliver a new residential community on the corner of Highgate Road, Ladypool Road, and Stratford Road. The scheme,

Leaseholders Urged to Buy Out Their Freeholds

London's 1.3 million leaseholders are shelling out £4.6bn in service charges every year as freeholders continue to hike their charges. Many are now trapped in their flats unable to sell and unable to pay the charges. According to Mike Somekh, who runs the Freehold Collective, the problem stems from the feudal system of land ownership which divides property ownership between those who own the land and those who have the right to occupy property on that land for a fixed period of time before it returns to t

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