Featured Articles

In a major departure from traditional property sales techniques, interior design and branding specialists Tonik this week launched its groundbreaking development concept at Cog Developments’ Hartington Place scheme in the centre of Eastbourne. Prospective purchasers at Hartington Place will be able to buy their apartments fitted to a “shell and core” specification, allowing them completely free rein to design the interior space as they wish – from the number and sizes of bedrooms to the type of fixtures a

Ian Reid Managing Director of Brevent Insurance, the leading independent block of flats insurance specialist explains why Resident Directors should pay much closer attention to their insurance arrangements now, especially as in many cases they represent 15-20% of the annual service charge. It’s a fact of life isn’t it? Insurance premiums automatically cost more every year. Well it’s not necessarily so. In the past few weeks, our team have helped Resident Directors achieve premiums that were significantly

The House of Lords has dealt another blow to owners of residential or mixed use buildings following its decision today in the case of Les Aggio and Others v Howard de Walden Estates Limited and 26 Cadogan Square Limited v The Earl of Cadogan and Cadogan Estates Limited. In May 2007, two of the largest family owned London estates, the Howard de Walden Estate and the Cadogan Estate, joined forces to secure a victory in the Court of Appeal preventing leasehold owners of buildings which include flats from cl

If you’re wary of the uncertainties surrounding the UK property market right now, maybe it’s time to consider a switch to a high growth alternative where off plan still makes sense. Remember off plan?Great for high growing markets and a thing of the past in the UK – at least for now. New Europe has to be one of the most exciting property markets in the world for property investors. And many of the rules for avoiding the deal killers are, well, the same as for any market. But not exactly. At Property Secr

If your managing agent isn’t doing their job properly, what steps can you take to rectify the situation? We spoke to the FPRA’s John Peartree about what to do when you aren’t happy with the managing agent’s performance, and look at all the options available to the dissatisfied leaseholder. Residents fall out with managing agents for a huge variety of reasons – poor financial handling, not paying bills, not making repairs or carrying out maintenance fast enough and being hard to get in touch with are but

So you need to find a managing agent for your block of flats. The good news is that you have this book, which is an excellent resource for finding one. However, now you have several hundred companies from which to choose, so where do you start? Here, we look at how to approach the hunt for the perfect agent. Check out what sort of properties the agent already manages – are they similar to yours? You want to make sure that the agent will be suitable for your needs. Someone who manages luxury blocks wi

Whenever a managing agent isn’t doing their job properly, at some point, at least one leaseholder will undoubtedly utter a variation on the phrase “what are we paying this service charge for when we aren’t getting any service?” But contrary to popular belief, the service charge doesn’t just disappear into the managing agent’s pocket – or at least it shouldn’t! Andrew Adamides breaks down the whys and wherefores of what the service charge is for, how it’s calculated and where it should be going. Put in its

We read about people being sued in the papers, see it on the news, watch television programs about it and it is even used in plot lines on films but we never think it will happen to us – do we? We discussed the situation of health & safety with Pete Gilgallon, operations manager, The GOL Group. The reality of being sued by someone for an accident that has happened to them due to poor health and safety is an everyday occurrence in the UK. Any company that has dealings with the public must do all they can

Many lessees may have heard the term “enfranchisement” without really knowing what it means. Basically enfranchisement is a group or collective right for leaseholders of flats to buy the freehold of the building they live in, regardless of whether the landlord wants to sell. Seeking a lease extension on the other hand, is an individual right for leaseholders to buy a new, extended lease which adds on 90 years to the unexpired lease with no ground rent. Although the rights are slightly different, the proc

Join News on the Block at this year's annual LEASE conference. As always the line up is formidable is a veritable who’s who of residential leasehold! LEASE is a government funded body that provides free legal advice on any aspect of residential leasehold and Commonhold to leaseholders, landlords, professional advisers and to Government. Each year LEASE responds to more than 32,000 enquiries and is therefore ideally placed to understand the concerns and issues of all participants in the sector. This year t

Click here to downlaod a pdf of the latest News on the Block supplement - Collective Enfranchisement 2008: Central London ** Please note the supplement is only available to subsribers. For more information on how to sign up to News on the Block please click here

Welcome to this special NOTB supplement on enfranchisement. It’s a big supplement about a big issue for leaseholders, buying out their landlord and taking control of their assets. Enfranchisement can be complicated, frequently fraught with problems, but wholly achievable by the ordinary leaseholder; whether a major mansion block, a docklands tower or a simple three-flat conversion the principles and procedures are much the same. A huge level of professional expertise has developed since enfranchisement be