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Homeowners who have been unwittingly paying secret insurance commissions to the owners of their freeholds are getting a chance to recover some of their money.  Law firm Velitor has secured funding from Balance Legal Capital LLP for leasehold homeowners to bring a no win, no fee claim against wealthy freeholders and insurance brokers for unlawfully charging hidden commissions on building insurance premiums for years. Millions of leaseholders are charged large sums for buildings, terrorism and other insuran

Sarah Garry, CEO of the Property Care Association (PCA) has been appointed to the CITB Nations Council (England). The trade body leader has joined as an Employer Member, working alongside ten other representatives, and alongside the Nations Councils for Wales and Scotland, will provide evidence from the industry to help shape CITB’s strategic plan. Sarah’s appointment comes after she joined the PCA in November 2023, with a remit to draw on her extensive experience in membership associations. Her work with

In this, the first of a series of three articles, we look at what it means for residential leaseholders and their landlords with regard to enfranchisement rights (leaseholders rights to extend their lease or acquire the freehold of their house or block) now that the Government has stated that it will implement the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The King’s Speech of 17th July 2024 announced that the Government’s legislative programme would include draft legislation on leasehold a

Award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group today revealed its financial accounts for 2023, representing another period of record-breaking performance during which the company surpassed revenues of £1bn for the first time. Hill posted record profits before tax of £70.1m from revenues of £1,145.9m for a 15-month period ended 31 March 2024. The Hill Group chose to extend its reporting period to March 31, 2024, to align its financial year-end with that of its many joint venture partners. This strategic move wi

Build to Rent Asset and Property Manager, CompassRock International, has recently trialled Reflection, an innovative new survey platform from Aon, a leading global professional services firm, to assess resident wellbeing at Market Quarter (formerly known as Bow Square), a Build to Rent (BTR) development in Southampton which CompassRock manages. The primary goal of the trial was to identify enhanced insight on actionable areas for improvement, aiming to enhance the resident experience, reduce void periods,

New housing association data reveals an urgent call for affordable homes for ordinary working people, with two thirds of key workers calling for more shared ownership homes to be created. Helping to drive the solution is housebuilder Barratt David Wilson Homes, who has just launched shared ownership homes for the first time in Canterbury (The Woodlands) and Maidstone (The Poppies) in partnership with shared ownership provider heylo. A total of 15 homes will launch at Barratt Kent’s development The Woodlan

Former Chainbow owner Roger Southam is returning to the residential letting market with new disruptor company Cohab. Cohab has developed a first-class service, charging an all-in lettings and management fee of 6%. Southam who sold residential property management company Chainbow to Savills in 2016 has teamed up with Canadian tech-entrepreneur Saveli Kotz, as Cohab’s chairman. Southam says: “This is just what the residential lettings market needs. For far too long residential landlords have had to put up w

Celebrating the release of their new app for their customer portal, Faraday Connect, leading property management and surveying agents, Faraday are proud to continually evolve and improve their customers’ experience.  As the first of many developments and with over 4,000 app downloads, the launch of the Faraday Connect app marks a milestone for Faraday in transforming the way leaseholders and property owners engage and communicate with their property managers and surveyors. With enhanced access to the port

A national planning and development consultancy has called for the Labour government’s review of national planning policy guidance to provide clarity to local planning authorities (LPAs) on how they can develop tailored local policies to support investment and growth at developed sites within the Green Belt. Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ recent announcement regarding Green Belt development, Lichfields highlights the potential economic and social benefits of planning reform. In new research published

Folk Co-Living, award winning communal living property brand, is offering renters a month's free rent when signing a 12 month lease.  Available until end of July, the offer spans across two Folk Co-Living properties (Earlsfield and Harrow) and allows renters to sign a 12-month lease with the promise of a month's free rent on top of all the incredible benefits Folk has to offer.  With the offer available at Sunday Mills (Earlsfield) and The Palm House (Harrow), renters can choose between two award winning

A £6m landmark scheme to transform former offices into luxury apartments on Manchester city centre’s iconic King Street has been completed. RECOM Solutions was the principal contractor for the project at 58-66 King Street, working on behalf of asset manager DTZ Investors. The 24,000sq ft Grade II listed building, now known as Kingsgate House, has been converted into 24 one and two-bedroomed flats across four floors, with the inclusion of ground floor and basement ancillary areas. It is the first residenti

Specialist property lender, ASK Partners (ASK), today announces that it has provided a loan to the joint venture between residential property development company, HUB Residential (HUB), and global investment firm, H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.) The facility supported the acquisition of a freehold site comprising three interconnected office buildings close to London’s Old Street roundabout. The JV will seek planning permission to demolish the existing commercial buildings and provide a residential led development