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[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] The 1993 act had a difficult passage through Parliament and, as a result,  there were a number of discrepancies.  Later legislation has dealt with some of these with varying degrees of success however, as a practitioner  specialising in this area, there are a few areas that have ‘holes’.   When asked the question “what would I change about the 1993 Act?” I was surprised at how minor the issues seemed when described, but how much easier they would make the process, if changed.

Letter to Editor: I was very surprised by the answer given by Eric Shapiro to the question raised over a defective forfeiture on bankruptcy clause. I have encountered this in practice and Eric`s answer is not correct. Section 57 ( 4) (c) provides that any new lease shall have excluded from its terms any provision which “ provides for the termination of the existing lease before its term date otherwise than in the event of a breach of its terms”. This wording will allow the removal of the defective for

Alexandre Boyes were awarded silver in the Best Single Lettings Office South East and shortlisted for the Best Block Management Office by the Times / Sunday Times Property Awards. The Judges Report stated: “This agency is well run, offering a wide ranging and appealing level of services.” Kate Boyes commented that ‘this is a particularly exciting recognition for our estate and block management discipline, a department in its infancy, with lots of exciting developments planned.’

The Institute of Residential Property Management is celebrating as Gemma Tracey (Marr-Johnson & Stevens) became the Institute’s 2,000th member. Anthony Essien, Chief Executive of LEASE said “the IRPM have played a major role in raising standards within the property management profession.  I congratulate them in achieving this significant membership milestone”. Landlords and Residents’ Management Companies are increasingly expecting their managing agents to demonstrate that they employ appropriately qual

Specialist service charge and ground rent recovery solicitors, J B Leitch LLP has celebrated the opening of their new office in Liverpool City Centre. The firm recently purchased an additional 3,000 sq ft of lower ground floor office space on Kent Street, close to their existing offices in the Ropewalks district of Liverpool. Jonathan Leitch, managing partner of the firm said: “On top of the £250,000 investment in the refurbishment, we are also planning a further IT investment to ensure our IT infrastr

ONE of the North West’s largest independent corporate insurance brokers, Bridge Insurance Brokers Limited, has announced the launch of a London office. Well established as a national and international broker and risk adviser, Bridge is capitalising on 40 years of success in the industry. The Award winning firm have recently designed an exclusive and specialist insurance facility for blocks of flats, called FlatGuard. FlatGuard provides an all round insurance solution incorporating wide-ranging bespoke

The FPRA and The Leasehold Advisory Service teamed up for a Leaseholder Residents Rights Workshop organised and chaired by local Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy. Stella Creasy said: ‘Over the course of the last few months a number of subjects relating to leases have been raised with me by local residents. These include increases in Service Charges, the poor performance of management companies, the requirement to take insurance cover with the management companies preferred insurer, and most recently increas

Over the last 6 months of reported cases, the Ombudsman Services: Property has investigated 9 cases of complaint against managing agents. In reaching its final decision, the Ombudsman required the managing agent to apologise (in three cases), to pay compensation of between £50-100 (in three cases), to take remedial action (in eight cases) and to take no further action (in one case). The complaints presented included: failure to provide a service charge certificate with the accounts, failure to upkeep the

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The beauty parade is over; you’ve picked up a substantial new block with a winning combination of service, excellence and value for money. And this is where the fun can start: extracting the documentation from the previous managing agent. When you take over a new block, you will want to secure as much personal, financial and property documentation as possible from your predecessors. As a bare minimum, you should ask the managing agent for the previous six years’ documentation relating to service charge

[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] The West Sussex Flats Insulation Project In 2008 a Partnership of 6 adjoining Local Authorities formed the West Sussex Partnership, and won a bid for 3 years of funding from the Regional Housing Board to help fund any excess payments required for Warm Front grant applicants. When the Warm Front Grant maximum was increased at the start of 2009, demand for ‘top-up’ funding was greatly reduced and the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) permitted the West Sussex Partne

ARMA, the trade body for managing agents, has stepped up its search to replace David Hewett as Chief Executive. Peter Dening, Chairman of ARMA has stated that the association is “...at a crossroads ...”. Specialist recruitment agency, Saxton Bampfylde has been retained for the search. Hewett’s successor will be reporting to the Council of ARMA, and tasked with recommending and implementing policy amongst other key responsibilities. Salary and the number of candidates who have so far applied have not been