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Q: Could you start by telling us a little bit about your background and how you came to be chief executive of the Leasehold Advisory Service? A: Certainly. I studied for a degree reading law. On completion of that I joined the Bar in Gray’s Inn – the work I was doing was general common law work such as housing, crime, a tiny bit of family, that sort of thing. I first contacted LEASE with the intention of trying to find a niche in property law, and to get a handle on the issues that were arising with a vie

RMC director Bob Smytherman talks to News on the Block about how residents in his block have benefited from Yourblockonline.com Bob lives in a block of 46 flats in West Sussex. The building is run by a self managed residential company and Bob is involved in the management. Just under a year ago Bob played a pivotal role in signing his block up to yourblockonline.com – the free service for people in blocks of flats. “When I first moved here 16 years ago a large number of the residents were elderly, but gra

Helen Matthews, Partner and Head of Contentious Property at Bolt Burdon writes that from 1 October 2007 every demand for service charges must provide leaseholders with information on their rights in relation to those charges. Section 153 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 came into force on 1 October 2007 amending the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 by inserting a new section 21B. The new section only applies in England with Welsh commencement soon. Under section 158 of the 2002 Act landlords mu

Housing minister Yvette Cooper is today expected to announce a review of the private rented sector by an academic at York University. It is thought that the review would be similar to the Hills Review of social housing, published earlier in the year. The news comes as the Citizens Advice Bureau reveals the scale of home owners saddled with mortgages they cannot afford, while the MoD admits spending £11m renting army homes from private landlords because of a lack of supply. The property industry believes

The magazine in your hands is our biggest yet. It seems the issues and topics surrounding the residential leasehold sector grow every day. We always attempt to be one of the first to explain and write about the latest changes to leasehold law. In this issue John Mills bemoans the fact that five years since the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act the requirement for annual statements of account has still not been implemented. Also in this issue Mira Bar-Hillel tackles head on the issue of insurance com

This month Jane Bayliss recalls some of the trials and tribulations her block managers have faced in the past when it comes to carrying out refurbishments (and justifying the fees) in her seaside block of flats. ‘Vot ’ave ve done to deserve zis?’ the indignant Middle European tones of Mrs Ponsonby wail down the phone. ‘£10 more zis quarter for maintenance!’ It’s all been explained in the annual budget, and Mrs Ponsonby is a rich widow. ‘I don’t know what you’ve done to deserve this, Mrs Ponsonby – why do

The long awaited Sportelli verdict finally has been handed down. Kerry Glanville, partner at Pemberton Greenish, analyses the Court of Appeal’s decision. The long anticipated decision of the Court of Appeal in a series of appeals against a decision of the Lands Tribunal that have become known, collectively, as the Sportelli appeals has been handed down today. Appeals on the issues before their Lordships have been dismissed with the result that: * Hope value is not to be included in the price payable

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 created a new “no fault” right to manage on the part of leaseholders who can now force their landlord to transfer the management functions to a special kind of company, a Right to Manage (RTM) company. The Right to Manage is a group right for leaseholders of flats to manage the building; there is no need for the landlord to consent to the establishment of an RTM company and no order of a court or LVT is necessary; there is no premium to pay to exercise the ri

Leaseholders pay substantial sums in service charges to their landlords every year, so you would expect that there would be a requirement for landlords to give in return a statement of account of how the service charges were spent. Not so, says John Mills of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers. There is a legal right for any leaseholder to ask for a summary of expenditure from the landlord but no more. In practice good agents do supply regular statements of account each year. In 2002 the govern

Mira Bar-Hillel reports on the concern that a growing number of landlords are all too easily able to take commission for simply arranging building insurance for their block, and asks what’s being done to prevent this. First the good news: owners of leasehold flats will soon have the legal right to an annual statement showing how their service charges are spent, according to new measures proposed by the government. Even better, they will also have the legal right to withhold service changes if they do not

Peter Moore of Tetra Consulting begins a new health & safety series for those who live in a block of flats. You will be pleased to know you are not the only people who find dealing with health & safety (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 or councils, you have to comply. H&S has been seen as an interference in the proper job of getting on

Daren Wood, Northern Regional general manager at the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), looks at the ways that homeowners can protect their flats and why resident groups should be taking a holistic approach to security. The security of our homes and the environment in which we live is important to us all. If a person’s home is broken into, it is often emotional trauma, rather than material loss, that causes most harm. Few things receive the personal effort and loving care that we put into our