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Despite the severity and depth of the recession, the role of the residential block manager is not redundant. Residents always need the services of good managing agents, and managing agents always need skilled and experienced staff . Theoretically,even an economic squeeze, the block management recruitment market remains active. The state of the economy has hit housebuilders hard, so fewer apartments are currently in development. Many managing agents are seeing a decrease in business, and therefore retent

It has already been seven years since the last piece of major legislation affecting flats hit the statute books in the form of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. At the forthcoming Annual Conference of the Leasehold Advisory Service, future policy with regard to leasehold property will be debated and discussed.Speakers include Siobhan McGrath, Senior President of the Residential Property Tribunal Service andNicolas Shulman, Honorary Consultant to the Federation of Private Residents Associations

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has promised to spend £22 million renovating 1300 derelict properties and turn them into liveable homes. Separately, in partnership with the Homes and Communities Agency, a further £135 million has been committed to creating 3000 aff ordable homes and kickstarting five stalled development sites around the capital leading to the construction of up to 6000 homes. Commenting on theproject, The Mayor said: “As this rolls out thousands of construction sector jobs will be s

RICs has issued a new guidance note concerning the valuation of new build properties. From 1 May 2009, valuers should differentiate between the new build premium – that portion of the price paid which will evaporate as soon as a newly-built property is occupied - and those value-adding factors (such as better building materials, enhanced insulation levels, or more efficient heating systems) which are intrinsic to a new property and which will remain when the home is sold.

Private and corporate landlords are not claiming back tax on energy efficient improvements they have made to their rental properties, according to a recent HMRC press release. Landlords can claim back the costs of buying and installing energy saving items in the properties they rent out against their taxable profi ts. Richard Mannion, of accountants Smith & Williamson, said “Landlords can claim back up to £1,500 for each dwelling house so this can include each residential flat within a block of flats.”

A warm homes Bill aimed at ending fuel poverty was blocked by the Government as too few MP’s turned up to vote on its future progress. The proposed Bill had significant implications for leaseholders around the country, many of whom struggle to heat their flats economically. A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime (usually 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms). Bob Sm

The niche Market for cleaning blocks of flats is competitive and very demanding. The residential block cleaning market differs from commercial cleaning in the respect that residents are more influential and personally involved in the standards and quality of service that are provided. One tenant’s opinion of what is required may differ from their neighbours and a service must meet all resident’s requirements. Contract cleaners are usually acting under instruction from Property Managers and are represe

Latest industry research suggests that over half of the blocks of flats in the UK are still unprepared for the digital switchover. This could mean that many thousands of leaseholders will be struggling to find a television signal when the analogue signal is switched off in 2012. The research was carried out by Sky’s Communal Television team. Sky’s specialist team visited 129 blocks, each containing between 4 and 66 separate flats (a total of over 3,000 individual homes), and undertook in-depth physica

From 6 April 2009, changes to the often criticised Home Information Pack came into effect. Sellers of leasehold property will not be obliged to provide any further information regarding their flat in additionto the standard HIP other than a copy of the lease (the inclusion of which became mandatory in January 2009). Although mandatory answers to questions about the management of the property were mooted by the Government, this has now been indefinitely waived. Kate Nicholls of The Council of Property Sear

As part of its ongoing strategy to increase focus on service delivery and efficiency, Deacon - one of the UK’s leading specialists in insurance for blocks of flats - has given its Claims Department a complete overhaul. Under the guidance of Claims Manager, Matt Wyatt, the inhouse Claims Department has implemented a major recruitment drive, recently taking on a team of new handlers. Combined with the introduction of new operational and administrative initiatives, the Claims team is able to ensure that p

Thousands of flat owners can sleep somewhat easier now that the Government has taken steps to protect their service charge deposits. In Issue 43, News on the Block’s headline article (Are your service charges safe?) reported about the risk posed to service charge funds held in the deposit account of a bank or building society that fails. Now, the Government has confirmed that service charge funds are eligible for protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to a maximum of

Consumer rights television programme, BBC Watchdog, has recently broadcast two programmes about the management of common parts in blocks of  flats. Disgruntled flat owners from around the UK appeared on the programme to complain about the poor levels of  service they had received from their property management companies. Flat owners appealed for help to protect their interests and advice was given from industry experts including the Federation of Private Residents’ Associations. Consideratio