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Q Tell us about your background and how you came to your role at Crabtree? A After leaving school I studied at Moray House College in Edinburgh and then moved to London in 1985. I took up a position managing a community centre in Neasden. After two challenging years I decided I wanted a career break. Friends suggested I might make a good property manager and I applied for a job at Simmonds and Partners. I found I was able to combine my people skills with my interest in buildings. After the company was ta

Richard Benson, estate management director of Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, provides expert advice on block insurance from a managing agent’s viewpoint. When buying a home within a block of flats one of the most important questions to ask is regarding the insurance; who is responsible for buildings insurance, is there a block insurance policy and ultimately, what is the leaseholder covered for by the freeholder, head lessor or management company?   As a legal requirement, it is not possible to get a mor

Brevent Insurance, the UK’s leading independent specialists in apartment block insurance, has shaped a number of unique policies with leading insurers to meet the needs of the flat and mixed-use property sector. Ian Reid, Brevent’s MD, warns leaseholders to check what they are paying for.   We regularly receive requests from leaseholders to help them resolve matters when they find out that they are paying for two buildings insurance policies on their flat. This is known as dual insurance and occurs when

County Estate Management (CEM) has responded to the growing need of resident management companies to insure buildings under a competitive, tailor-made policy. CEM has partnered with Oamps Special Risks to bring an insurance solution to the residential sector. The product has been devised for a residential estate consisting of approximately 400 units. The estate is insured for property, terrorism, liability, engineering and directors and officers liability. At this property, three out of five phases have

The traditional way in which flats are being purchased and managed is putting pressure on residents and tenants as they take up responsibility for the insurance and management of the block. Stuart Alexander, an independent Insurance Broking firm, is tackling the issues surrounding this added level of responsibility for residents and tenants, and have developed a new insurance product called Flatprotect. Flatprotect focuses on the fact that right to manage companies, residents’ associations and flat-owne

Chambers Place is a residential development in Purfleet, east London, comprising seven blocks of flats.   As is the case at many other blocks, demand for Sky TV is high among the residents of Chambers Place. But in the absence of a communal TV system, some residents put up minidishes in order to receive it. The managing agent of Chambers Place, David Moorer of Ringley, was keen to give the residents choice and to meet the demand for Sky TV, but he also wanted a system that all residents could use. He cont

In this occasional health & safety series, David Foster explains about fire management in a block of flats. It is now more than six months since the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 was introduced. As was predicted at the time it has taken a little while for these new regulations and procedures to bed down and it is apparent that there are still differences of interpretation on aspects of fire protection measures between the various local fire authorities. However it is evident that all local

News on the Block interviewed Vera Baird QC MP, until recently Justice Minister at the new Ministry of Justice, to ask if the Government has been successful in getting the message across about commonhold. NOTB: There are just 13 commonhold schemes in England and the law has been in place for three years, would you consider this disappointing?   VB: Yes. It is disappointing. It’s a pity, but I don’t think it’s an immense surprise because it takes a long time to change established practices. There are stro

On May 16th News on the Block hosted a conference on the subject of commonhold. Speakers included Gerry Fox of Peverel OM Ltd, Peter Haler of LEASE, Paul Hughes representing the Ministry of Justice and James Driscoll of Trowers & Hamlins. Commonhold has not been the panacea many hoped for but a consultation paper from the Ministry of Justice due soon will put the subject back in the public eye. The conference was organised to discuss the issues surrounding commonhold; why it has been poorly received by d

I am sure that when I was growing up and going through my formative years we were taught to take responsibility for ourselves and be responsible for our own actions. Blame Culture Each passing day proves that this is the antithesis of what the yoof are brought up on. For years we have seen degeneration towards the blame culture and it being someone else’s fault. This has reached a new high with a case of a 24-year-old student suing her landlord because he didn’t advise her that it was dangerous to dance

These are exciting times in social housing. Nothing happens for ages then a whole series of reviews, consultations and ministerial changes come along at once. We face the prospect of a new independent regulator that promises to put tenants first and a new regeneration and housing agency, Communities England. The new Prime Minister has already pledged to make housing a priority and his Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper, will sit in Cabinet for the first time in a generation. Let’s hope that this commitment i

With sustainable living and energy in particular dominating the latest headlines can residents benefit from a sustainable energy supply from community services as well as ‘common sense’ measures such as energy efficient lighting and switching off appliances? What are the merits of community services with private billing? Heating Community and district heating follow similar principles. A district heating system delivers heat energy to more than one building, usually for space heating and domestic hot wa