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John Peartree, recently appointed chief executive of the Federation of Private Residents’ Associations, talks exclusively to News on the Block Q: Tell us a little about your background and how you came to your role at FPRA? A: Much of my working life was spent abroad, in the employ of food companies, initially in marketing and advertising and later in general management, which lead to involvement in property. I worked for a wine and spirits’ company in South Africa, a frozen food company in Australia an

Leaseholders win the battle but not the war, issue 30. I read with interest your article on the recent decision by the Lands Tribunal in Sportelli.  Mr Goldstone is quoted as saying: "The Sportelli decision is fundamentally flawed because it applies the same 5% rate whether dealing with a flat in a prime block in Chelsea or a small flat in a deteriorating block in a suburban area". I feel this misses the point.  All ground rents are very secure against the asset on which they are paid.  It therefore matt

The Little Red Book – Who’s Who in Property Management With the May issue of News on the Block magazine (no.33) we will be launching a new, separate publication called The Little Red Book – Who’s Who in Property Management.   This will be a comprehensive listing in the form of a directory of property management agents in England and Wales, A5 in size. The publication will be updated and published again in November. If you would like your property management company to be listed in The Little Red Bo

The Complete Guide to Renovating and Improving Your Property, 2nd edition By Liz Hodgkinson ISBN: 0749448709 Paperback, 224pp, Published December 2006, £10.99. Kogan Page The Complete Guide to Renovating and Improving Your Property helps readers make the right decision about every aspect of property improvement – what is worth the effort and what will be a good investment. Informative and enjoyable, it provides expert advice on a wealth of topics, including arranging finances; finding a good builder; proj

A strange sort of month this – the weather is fluctuating more than a guilty man’s graph on a lie detector test. This is bringing its own challenges, as the freak weather means buildings are being tested to extremes by the wind and the rain. The consequences will be felt through insurance premiums and the only people who lose out in the end are the leaseholders, both in terms of damage, disruption during remedial works and the added burden of cost. It’s up to us property managers to keep the fallout to a

Mark Chick, a partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP specialising in leasehold reform and landlord and tenant matters, explains new developments in LVT practice and procedure. There have been changes in LVT practice and procedure relating to lease extension and freehold purchase claims. Most of these came into effect as of January 2007 but the changes relating to listing are being applied only to new cases (i.e. applications received since the start of this year). Under the new procedures once an application i

Facts: The appellant was the freeholder of two blocks of flats in Walsall, West Midlands. When the appellant purchased the flats they were both suffering from a lack of maintenance by the previous owner, such that the local council had required extensive works to be done. During the course of the works, it became clear that the freeholder had insufficient advance payments from leaseholders to enable it to complete the works. It therefore sought a determination under s.27A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

BREAKING NEWS   LITTLE FOR LEASEHOLDERS IN LAST BUDGET FROM BROWN In this special News on the Block eAlert we highlight some of the main announcements in the Budget to impact leaseholders along with more reaction from the residential property industry. In what is widely expected to be Gordon Brown’s last budget before making a bid for Labour leadership, the Chancellor offered little to excite leaseholders. Stephen Peete, Chief Executive of the Loughborough Building Society, was forthright in his reacti

BREAKING NEWS Tenant Deposit Scheme – ready or not? In April 2007, the Tenant Deposit Scheme (TDS) will come into effect in England and Wales, overseeing deposits equating to an amount worth £1.2 billion. The TDS will provide protection to both tenants and landlords entering into assured short hold tenancy agreements by offering an independent and regulated means of dispute resolution. An area that remains peripheral to any discussions is that of the need for accurate and detailed documentation of a pr

BREAKING NEWS Sneak preview of the March issue of News on the Block New Look! The March issue of the new look News on the Block magazine is now at the printers and will be sent out shortly. Find a sneak preview of the contents below: INSIDE THIS MONTH The Jane Barry column –leaseholder campaigning The knowledge base – readers questions answered What’s in the news? – latest news and views Environment special – Carbon emission and wind-powered flats The law– houses in multiple occupation; Peter Haler of

BREAKING NEWS Two is better than one At the recent Extraordinary General Meeting of the Southern Private Landlords Association, members agreed by an overwhelming majority to amalgamate the Southern Private Landlords Association (SPLA) and the National Federation of Residential Landlords (NFRL). This move is in recognition of changes that are taking place in the industry and positions the National Federation for Residential Landlords as a newly formed membership-based organisation servicing more than 9,

BREAKING NEWS Announcing the launch of News on the Block’s ‘Recruitment Bulletin’ Recruiting property managers and professionals for your property management company is difficult and time consuming. But thanks to News on the Block your property management company will be able to place recruitment advertisements in our new ‘Recruitment Bulletin’. It will be sent electronically to our email database of more than 1,800 property professionals every two weeks. Special introductory rates apply. Price for ea