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October house prices were down 0.8% from a month earlier, with the average price now £165,505 in England and Wales. The year-on-year change is still up 3.4%, with London increasing 7.6% from a year earlier. The Eastern region had the greatest monthly rise (1%)  and the North Eastern region had the greatest monthly decline (-0.9%). LSL estate agency stated that because mortgage finance remained difficult to obtain for potential buyers, it has put a drag on house price growth and into negative territory f

Landlords should always protect their deposits within 14 days of receiving them and give the required notification to their tenants. The Court of Appeal has now clarified the date by which a landlord has to protect a tenant’s deposit in order to avoid a penalty. Under a shorthold tenancy the deposit has be protected by lodging it with one of three tenancy deposit schemes.  The landlord then has to notify the tenant of what has been done and provide other key information. And, if this isn’t done, landlor

Data released by both the Ministry of Justice and the Council for Mortgage Lenders suggest the number of properties taken into possession and the level of mortgage arrears continuing to decline. Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist said: “We now expect mortgage repossessions to total no more than 37,000 for the whole of this year which compares with 46,000 during 2009. Low interest rates continue to play a key role in preventing the number of repossessions climbing towards levels seen in the early 1990

We received a huge amount of entries for this year's Property Management Awards, demonstrating the dedication and passion (and competitive nature!) of those working in the industry. During a gruelling session, the independent judging panel compared notes, having individually scrutinised all the entries and nominations received.  Eventually, the finalists were selected.  The winners will receive their Awards at a glittering black tie ceremony on 6th December 2010 in Central London. London Property Manage

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude has announced this morning the fate of The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) and the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (which is part of the Residential Property Tribunal Service). The Leasehold Advisory Service remains "under consideration" with the intention that it will be merged in future with a specialist advice service.  A formal decision will be made in April 2011.The Residential Property Tribunal Service will no longer remain a Non-Departmental Public Body and wil

Until The 1990’S insurance policies included damage by terrorism. Following incidents in London, insurers were no longer able to purchase the reinsurance cover they needed to protect themselves against potentially catastrophic losses so were threatening to exclude these risks completely. The Government stepped in to provide the insurers with the reinsurance cover needed to enable them to continue to provide the cover but it now had to be bought as a separate policy. MISCONCEPTION 1 Why don’t the ins

The recent hike in capital gains tax to 28% by the new coalition Government has been met with caution by the property industry, as it will affect many who have invested in ¯ats.

More ¯nancial advisers think their clients should consider commercial property as an investment compared with residential property, according to the latest survey of Independent Financial advisers (IFas) by rEITa. Dave Butler, director of corporate affairs at Grainger plc said: "The drop in con¯dence in the residential housing market, whilst quite large, is perhaps to be expected given the uncertainty surrounding the economy. It also prudently re¯ects doubts as to whether recent rises in house prices ca

The latest Government house building data shows that the number of starts rose in the first three months of this year to the best level since the second quarter of 2008. Despite this, starts are currently only running at around 50% of the level achieved at the high water mark of the previous cycle. Commenting on the Government's house building data, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "Significantly, most of the recent improvement has come from a turnaround in private sector development with outp

The Federation of Private Residents Associations has called for a change to the Landlord and Tenant Act that would allow for ‘reasonable' insulation to be carried out to blocks of flats as part of the service charge. Existing legislation on energy effi  ciency excludes many leaseholders because the grants are aimed at individuals that purchase in their own names rather than through communal arrangements. It is therefore not practical for the leasehold owner of a flat to take most of the steps that a house

Over 50 property managers celebrated together in London as England beat Slovenia in the FIFa world Cup 2010. The event was jointly hosted by News on the Block and Sky Homes.

RMG property management has successfully generated over £400k worth of business from the north of England.  Justin Herbert, RMG's Operations Director for the North, said: "Customers recognise the benefi t of regular site visits, full transparency and accessibility to Property Managers, quarterly meetings and site audits, as well as the value for money and customer service provided by RMG." RMG has recently acquired 16 new developments from Miller Homes in the North West - replacing the original agents app