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RECENT RESEARCH BY E.SURV, the largest chartered surveyor in the UK, suggests that flatowners in England and Wales are at risk from shortening leasehold terms.  Richard Sexton, Director, explained:”Once a lease has less than 80 years to run, the value of the property begins to fall and picks up speed the closer it gets to expiry. The potential consequences are nightmarish. Both the lender and the owner can fall into negative equity, the property becomes unmortgageable, and is therefore impossible to sell

Places for People (PFP) have acquired the Residential Management Group (RMG).  RMG manages over 60,000 leasehold properties for housebuilders, registered providers, landlords, local authorities and residential management companies. David Cowans, Chief Executive at Places for People said: “We see strong growth in the housing and facilities management sectors. This deal coupled with our existing property services, will enable us to offer a complete residential management package to both the public and priva

The Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2013 (the ERMAs), is now firmly established in the industry calendar for recognising professional excellence in leasehold reform work. This is not only the 5th year of the ERMA’s, but also 20 years since the enactment of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 which has had a huge influence on this area of practice. This makes the awards this year extra special - and another fantastic reason to attend, even if you have not done so in the

Smith and Dennis v Jafton Properties Limited has considered whether self-contained flats being used for short term serviced accommodation are "flats" and whether they could be considered to be "occupied for residential purposes" in the case of collective enfranchisement. Although the question of 'What is a house' under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (the 1967 Act) has been considered on numerous occasions in recent years, there have been far fewer reported decisions considering the question of 'What is a

The Government has introduced a last minute amendment to the the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill which will require managing agents in the residential leasehold sector to offer leaseholders and freeholders access to an approved ‘redress scheme’.   The amendment will also apply to letting and managing agents operating in the private rented sector.   Housing Minister, Mark Prisk MP, was pressured to make this move following a determined campaign in Parliament to introduce statutory regulation of man

Research by News on the Block has revealed a significant number of Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords who own flats.  The information is contained in the public Register of Member of interests.  The full list can be downloaded here. The recent Government amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill means that, if passed into law, managing agents will for the first time have to offer flat owners and freeholders access to a redress scheme - as a matter of law.  This move does not

Sebastian O’Kelly, of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, has won the Best Online Editorial and “Scoop of the Year” awards at the LSL Property Press Awards 2013.  The awards, were presented by veteran broadcaster and journalist, Andrew Neil, who edited the Sunday Times for 11 years. Sebastian, the former Property Editor of the Mail on Sunday, nixed competition from the Financial Times Online and Estates Gazette, and was particularly recognised for his coverage of the leasehold dispute involving Plantati

LIFT PORTFOLIO As the requirement regards technical understanding increases as lift installations become more complicated, support of the Client and their representatives is all the more important when dealing with Lift Companies. By recognising trends in breakdowns or highlighting issues in relation to reliability and by doing so reducing the level of downtime and unforeseen costs, Lift Consultants support their clients and their client residents. By knowing what lifts are installed, where and by assessi

The Right to Manage may only be claimed in respect of premises which consist (among other things) of “a self-contained building or part of a building, with or without appurtenant property” (s.72(1)(a), C&LRA 2002). In the first right to manage case to reach the Court of Appeal (Gala Unity v Ariadne Road RTM Company Limited); the meaning of the term “appurtenant property” was considered. The Upper Tribunal had found in favour the RTM company, noting that the right to manage extended to “appurtenant pro

QUESTION Dear Sir I am a director of a residents company of a block of flats in Kingston upon Thames. Our flats are located on 3 floors above a ground floor commercial property. Three flat balconies on the first floor overlap the office and appear to be leaking water through to their premises. Surveyors suggest when the patio doors onto this balcony had replaced the original French windows, the work was done incorrectly possibly causing the ingress of water. The contractor quoting to renew the asphalt

QUESTION Dear Sir I own and live in a ground floor 3 storey high apartment block. I subscribe to Sky Plus. Unfortunately, I only have a single piped line into my apartment which precludes me from obtaining the full benefits of Sky Plus such as watching one programme while recording another. The freeholder has refused to put a second line in and also refuses permission for me to install my own Sky dish. Can they insist on this? What are the likely penalties if I disobey and install my own dish? Name

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.