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London's 1.3 million leaseholders are shelling out £4.6bn in service charges every year as freeholders continue to hike their charges. Many are now trapped in their flats unable to sell and unable to pay the charges. According to Mike Somekh, who runs the Freehold Collective, the problem stems from the feudal system of land ownership which divides property ownership between those who own the land and those who have the right to occupy property on that land for a fixed period of time before it returns to t

Essex property group, Beresfords, has been awarded silver for the Website of the Year category at the Negotiator Awards ceremony 2024. The Negotiator Awards is the leading awards programme for estate and letting agents in the UK alongside their suppliers, and was supported this year by headline sponsor Zoopla, alongside a host of category sponsors. London’s premier venue, The Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane hosted the black-tie event in its iconic ‘Great Room’, with agents from all over the UK attendin

Caridon Group, an award-winning property investment and management firm with over 15 years of industry experience, is pleased to announce the launch of Caridon Estates. Having built a portfolio of approximately 2,500 units through acquisition, development, leasing, and joint ventures, Caridon Estates is now entering the estate agency market with the goal of helping homeowners and landlords unlock the full potential of their properties. Leveraging their extensive experience in property investment and as

Novello Chartered Surveyors, one of London’s fastest growing residential surveying firms, has acquired Castles Surveyors, a trusted name in North London for over 30 years. Already considered one of the fastest-growing residential surveying firms, the announcement marks a significant milestone in Novello’s mission to become the premier multi-discipline surveying firm in London.  Castles Surveyors, previously part of Castles Estate Agents, has built a strong reputation for its expertise in valuations, surve

For the past four weeks, life has been a whirlwind of calculations, revisions, and difficult decisions as I try to navigate the fallout of the UK’s latest budget announcement. As a small business owner with 25 years of experience, I’ve weathered my share of storms—from recessions to pandemics—but this time feels different.  This time, it feels like we’re headed straight into a concrete wall. Even if the economy grows by the predicted 1% (which, frankly, feels optimistic), my instinct tells me we’re starin

Leading property management agency, Rendall & Rittner (R&R) has announced a series of senior staff promotions to support the company’s continued growth plans. The market-leading business, which has almost 90,000 residential units under management across the UK, has an ambitious strategy for sustained growth and is committed to investing in its people as the key means of achieving that objective. Under the latest round of promotions, Paul Denton, Wale Oladunjoye and Daniel Steer have taken on expanded remi

Crown Property Management has been appointed to manage a flagship Quayside development in Exmouth.  The Estate has 266 Leasehold & Freehold properties along with various commercial units.  Darren Stocks founder of Crown Property Management said "we are so pleased to have been selected and we are certain that the services we provide meets the needs of clients and residents and we are committed to upholding the highest standards at Exmouth Quay". Furthermore Mr Stocks added  "Our staff have been key i

Principle Estate Management have been appointed on three separate retirement developments with properties in London, Oxford and Worcestershire, including two RTM-led developments and a corporate client.   Joe Jobson, joint managing director, said "We're getting more enquiries for retirement living schemes and our wide range of expertise and extra-personal service within our business development and property management teams lends itself particularly well to the needs of this type of development. We’re ple

Award-winning London developer Fruition Properties has launched Print Makers, its boutique new development of nine apartments in the heart of Bermondsey, delivered using innovative airspace construction. Launched to high levels of buyer interest, the development plays a key part in the regeneration of the local area. Designed by renowned architects TP Bennett and Farrells, the ambitious airspace development provides a mixture of high specification two- and three-bedroom apartments all with balconies or te

The Government has issued a consultation on introducing permitted insurance fees for landlords, freeholders and property managing agents. In this article we explore the arrangements between the various parties involved in taking out buildings insurance on multi-occupied properties, and look at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) findings on how much commission is typically being paid. Placekeeper does not take any commission payments for placing insurance, as we regard arranging insurance cover as formi

Since the Law Commission reported in January 2020 Brady Solicitors have been commenting on the expected leasehold reform. Following the statement on 21 November 2024 from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, we look at some of the key information we can take away from it. Brief Background The Act has been controversial throughout its development following the Law Commission’s recommendations published in July 2020. Having been included in the ‘wash up’ process of almost compl

There has been much talk over the past few years about leasehold reform, with the term ‘fleecehold’ getting thrown around. The term is often used interchangeably when commenting on the rising cost of service charges to ordinary leaseholders, implying freeholders or managing agents are ‘fleecing’ them, and profiting as part of the process.  However, this is inaccurate. Notwithstanding a small minority who may use some unscrupulous practices to directly benefit from certain costs leaseholders pay toward, th