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Over the years we’ve learnt a great deal from RMC directors about their experiences with managing agents and here’s what some of them have to say… “An effective managing agents role is to get things done around the block – to be proactive rather than reactive; some of the agents we’ve dealt with in the past haven’t even been that!” “Simple things like block maintenance are one of the primary factors where agents have failed in the past and it just goes downhill from there and spirals out of control.” “

The FPRA’s chief executive officer, John Peartree, considers what actions should be taken if your managing agent is underperforming. First, be sure that you really do want to fire your agent. Are they really guilty of serious misdemeanours or are you simply taking for granted their strong points and focusing on possibly lesser important areas of weakness? If you are unhappy with aspects of your agent’s performance then tell them! Tell them firmly, tell them what standards they must achieve to overcome th

A managing agent is responsible for a wide variety of aspects of block life, from ensuring essential maintenance is regularly carried out to a high standard at the best possible cost to residents, to making sure residents abide by leasehold regulations and are keeping their service charge payments up to date. A good agent can also dramatically affect the value of a property within a block of flats, while at the same time a negligent agent can just as easily have an adverse influence on flat prices within

Fire, flood, faulty workmanship, an electrical fault, high winds, lightning strikes, and accidental damage to residential buildings are just a few of the things which can result in people being left homeless, whether for a few hours, a few months, or longer. During the last year alone, the company re-housed 1,700 people following minor and major incidents, including in the aftermath of the explosions at Buncefield, which rendered properties uninhabitable for more than 24 hours. The company was also a lea

You will be pleased to know you are not the only people who can find dealing with all the H&S issues time consuming and occasionally (!) irritating. Anyone who manages any type of property has to deal with the issues you are facing; whether it is commercial property, offices, shops, hospitals, councils you have to comply. You are not alone! H&S has been seen as interference in the proper job of getting on and dealing with all the real issues of Property Management but now of course managing safety is

A decade ago, new developments were usually sold to owner-occupiers, making their management more straightforward because all residents had an important personal stake in keeping the common parts clean, tidy, and well maintained. The advent of buy to let, in the wake of the pensions crisis and the introduction of tailored mortgage products, has changed all that. What has also changed is the integration of affordable social housing within new schemes where provision of up to 50 per cent of all new homes

Minister Yvette Cooper has set out reforms to the planning system to help local authorities deliver more and better homes - including more affordable, family homes. The government clearly wants and needs to build more homes - and fast. Their own research has found that if we do not do so, then the proportion of thirty-year-old couples able to afford their own home will fall from over 50 per cent today to nearer 30 per cent in twenty years' time. You can get a sense of the housing need from the fact th

Many thousands of landlords who own flats in converted houses may be in for a surprise when a clause of the Housing Act comes into force, writes David Lawrenson. Since July 2006 it has been a mandatory requirement for landlords with HMOs that have three or more storeys and five or more tenants to apply for a license for each property (and in some areas licensing extends to smaller HMOs too.) Failure to apply for a license could land landlords with fines up to £20,000. What few people realise is that t

It is estimated that in England there are about 250,000 homes that have been empty for over six months. To help solve this problem, the government has now given powers to local authorities to effectively seize control and manage homes that have been left empty for more than six months, under what are called "Empty Dwelling Management Orders"   However, on the subject of getting empty homes back into use, the government has not been so keen to publicise the fact that investors can actually get income tax

Implementation of the Government’s new Local Housing Allowance (LHA) for recipients of the existing Housing Benefit (HB) will have far-reaching implications on landlords who provide privately rented accommodation to people on benefit. Vitally for the landlord, in most cases the LHA will be paid to the tenant, who will take over responsibility for paying rent to the landlord. This represents a significant change from the existing procedure whereby HB can be paid direct to the landlord. Part of the Welf

Enfranchisement & Leasehold Solutions (ELS) announced that a record number of owners of leasehold flats are opting to purchase their freehold (enfranchise). ELS are currently arranging collective enfranchisement for over 2,000 flats in London. This news comes on the fifth anniversary of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002, the legislation that made it substantially easier for tenants of flats and houses to purchase the freehold of their properties. Andrew Lyndon-Skeggs, founder and managing dir

If you own a residential property that contains communal areas then you will need to comply with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006. This will include for example, hallways, lift shafts, stairs and roof spaces. The responsibility belongs to the “Duty Holder”. This is anyone who has the responsibility for maintaining and repairing all or any part of the property or who has control of the building. A Landlord and /or managing agent has a responsibility to pass on relevant information to te