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[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] Ponds can be attractive features for any garden or open space. However, if they are not managed properly they can become polluted, overgrown and attract pests. To prevent this it is important to carefully consider ongoing management and maintenance plans. Good water quality is key to the healthy life of a pond and must be kept clean to provide suitable habitat for animals and plants. Water can be cleaned naturally, through planting special water plants to filter impurities

Auditioning for a replacement managing agent can feel like a time-consuming gamble, and it’s not a process you want to keep repeating. With numerous managing agents to choose from, how do you differentiate between the many hopefuls and make sure you find the one who is exactly right? The standard procedure is to find companies which are members of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), invite a selection of firms to tender, listen to

The Construction Act is changing and if you are not prepared you may find yourself out of pocket. If you do not issue the correct notices under the Act, as a client you could be forced to pay for commercial construction and maintenance works which have not been properly carried out and you will be unable to correct the position until the next pay date. The new Construction Act has changed the way payments are made, and you will need to update your internal procedures and notices. There is also a greater

Award winning property company, The Ringley Group, who have recently been shortlisted for another award (a National Training Award by Investors In People), are working with the London Apprenticeship Company (LCA), to offer apprenticeships for people aged 16-23.

An Absolute prohibition on subletting is rare but can be found in some leases. If present, then it is hard to avoid. It is not a term that an individual leaseholder could apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) to vary under section 35 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987. An absolute bar on subletting could be the subject of an application under section 37 of the 1987 Act, provided a substantial majority of the leaseholders are in favour of variation. The most common clause requires the leaseholder

[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1]   Solvency II is the biggest regulatory challenge currently facing European insurers and replaces 13 existing EU insurance directives. EU member states must transpose Solvency II into their own national laws and insurers must show that they meet all of its requirements by 31 October 2012. Solvency II is a new system of supervision for assessing the overall financial position of insurers to ensure that they are better equipped to cope with adverse developments worldwide. I

[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1]   When Colonel Tim Collins addressed the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, poised just south of the Iraqi border, his message was one of respect. Respect your enemy and you will succeed, be ferocious in battle but magnanimous in victory, and allow them dignity in death. This was the start of the war of “Hearts & Minds”. I’m not suggesting that standing in the Kuwaiti desert on the eve of a war bears any similarity to the role of an Estates Manager. However, in our

Many leases are often poorly drafted and defective. For example, the lease may not specify the party responsible for some repair and maintenance within the demised premises, or who pays for work that needs to be done or more commonly, may allocate service charges in proportions that do not add up to 100%. Landlords, leaseholders and property managers should know that remedies are available to resolve a defective lease situation. Generally, there are two ways to vary leases: By obtaining the consent

NOTB: Tell us a little bit about your background. I come from a customer services and support background, with a number of years spent in the IT sector. I have been involved in the leasehold sector since 2004. NOTB: So, how did leasehold matters first spark your interest? My interest in leasehold issues was sparked by simply wanting to re-decorate the kitchen of my flat. I needed to find out how to contact the freeholder or the managing agents, eventually learning that the freeholder was deemed ‘absen

It is both a sadness and an irony that I find myself lobbying for more comprehensive regulation of managing agents in the residential property management sector. Businesses in the services sector do not necessarily welcome more regulation. But property management is different. In my view, property management needs the equivalent disciplines, accreditations and rules of those found for example, in the legal, medical or auditing professions. Property management has a similar combination of complexity and ne

QUESTION: Dear Editor We have agreed to buy a 90 year extension of a flat in Cadogan Square following a binding decision. At the eleventh hour the bank have advised that they cannot lend as there is a tenant insolvency clause in the lease. Is there anything we can do to make the freeholder remove this clause?Name WithheldANSWER: The reason the bank will not lend is that if you should go bankrupt then the lease is automatically forfeit. You as the tenant could possibly apply to the court for relief ag

QUESTION: We took over the management of a small block of five flats and two domestic garages last year, after a long battle with the landlord. She and her husband own one of the flats. They have both declined the offer to join the RTM Co. She has exercised her right to continue as manager of the two garages, as apparently these do not fall within the remit of the RTM Co. I therefore send her the service charge invoices for the garages which she then sends to them, adding a 10% management fee of her ow