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Property Manager Tony Martin, from Caxtons, one of the largest independent property practices in the South East, and his colleague, Gemma Weighill, took part in the recent British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton cycle ride. They raised in excess of £300 and said they were following in the footsteps of former Chairman, James Pilcher, a keen fundraiser. Sadly, James died of cancer last November.

There has been a steady growth of actions within the Leasehold Valuation Tribunals since the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act of 2002. With the requirements to send section 153 and section 158 notices with any demands or administrative fees to leaseholders explaining their statutory rights and obligations the law has created a system of leaseholder led regulation. In the event that leaseholders believe their service charges are unreasonable they can challenge them through the Tribunal system. Whilst no

Upon receipt of a Right To Manage claim notice, a landlord party will need to give consideration to legal, commercial and tactical issues, which will include the following: Whether or not to admit the claim; Its obligations and position in respect of contracts; Issues with regard to contractor notices; The general approach to take in dealing with the RTM Company; The treatment of service charges; and Costs. Counter-Notice Any party given a claim notice by a RTM company may give a counter-notice.

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

Construction has the highest number of fatalities for the year (50, with a rate of 2.4 deaths per 1,000 workers). The life of a construction worker can be extremely hazardous – with fatalities involving electrocution, being hit by falling objects and being trapped underneath vehicles according to statistics compiled by the Health and Safety Executive and analysed by No win no fee lawyers Claims Direct. In the services sector there were 47 fatal injuries (0.2 deaths per 1,000 workers).

Auditioning for a replacement managing agent can feel like a time-consuming gamble, and it’s not a process you want to keep repeating. With numerous managing agents to choose from, how do you differentiate between the many hopefuls and make sure you find the one who is exactly right? The standard procedure is to find companies which are members of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), invite a selection of firms to tender, listen to

[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] Ponds can be attractive features for any garden or open space. However, if they are not managed properly they can become polluted, overgrown and attract pests. To prevent this it is important to carefully consider ongoing management and maintenance plans. Good water quality is key to the healthy life of a pond and must be kept clean to provide suitable habitat for animals and plants. Water can be cleaned naturally, through planting special water plants to filter impurities

12 Property Managers at the Residential Management Group have passed the final examination to become full members of the IRPM. This represents 10% of the total number of all examinees, and means the candidates can now utilise the designatory letters MIRPM. Special mention goes to Charlotte Howlings who completed both Parts 1 and 2 of the examination within a few months of each other. In addition, Alex Mawson-Murphy achieved 88% which was the highest mark of the 12 RMG employees.

[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

[extra:quotes:boxoutcopy=1] Recovery of residential service charges is a minefield, particularly for unwary landlords who do not demand or give details of sums due by way of service charge within time limits set by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Section 20B of the 1985 Act provides that a landlord has 18 months from incurring a service charge expense to demand or notify the leaseholders of payment. Otherwise, a landlord will be prevented from recovering any sums incurred outside the time limit. There

The Construction Act is changing and if you are not prepared you may find yourself out of pocket. If you do not issue the correct notices under the Act, as a client you could be forced to pay for commercial construction and maintenance works which have not been properly carried out and you will be unable to correct the position until the next pay date. The new Construction Act has changed the way payments are made, and you will need to update your internal procedures and notices. There is also a greater

Award winning property company, The Ringley Group, who have recently been shortlisted for another award (a National Training Award by Investors In People), are working with the London Apprenticeship Company (LCA), to offer apprenticeships for people aged 16-23.