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In May 2018, just under a year after the Grenfell tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt published Building a Safer Future – an independent review of building regulations and fire safety.  Dame Judith’s conclusion about a “culture of indifference” included her concern that “the voices of residents often go unheard, even when safety issues are identified”. In order to bring residents closer to the nuts and bolts of building safety and to give them a louder voice, the BSA 2022 (as applied to buildings ‘in scope’  ≥ 1

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has now been published further to the King’s Speech https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-the-leasehold-and-freehold-reform-bill Limited information had been given as to its likely contents. What does it mean for leaseholders (house and flat owners) and their landlords?  Marriage value is to be scrapped, meaning that those with less than 80 years of their lease to run stand to save a significant sum. This does not come as a surprise as we saw this alluded to in the

The King’s Speech has corrected an oversight in the Building Safety Act that flat owners looking to extend their leases will be relieved to see. While Leasehold Reform and the potential capping of ground rents announced in the King’s Speech last week (as detailed in our attached article) captured the headlines in this sector, a key correction has been made to the Building Safety Act which may have flown under the radar.  Thanks to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which was given Royal Assent, lease

The latest gauge of home buyer sentiment by Yopa, the award-winning national estate agency, has revealed that the lack of a stamp duty incentive in last week’s Autumn Statement was a missed opportunity to help revitalise a weary property market.  Yopa commissioned a survey of over 1,000 home buyers across England and Wales who have been in the market for the last year but are yet to make their move. The survey found that 45% had put their plans to purchase on hold as a consequence of rising mortgage rates

Leading repairs and maintenance solution provider Fixflo has dug into its repairs data to discover how the nation's rental properties were affected in October and early November by Storms Babet and Ciaran - and warns that with more severe weather on the way, agents should get ready now. With the strong winds, freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall came - unfortunately - property issues. The UK was chiefly affected by Babet, while the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland bore the effects of Ciaran. In to

Property Management Recruitment have launched our annual homeless charity campaign to raise awareness for @singlehomelessproject We have designed some fun, festive baubles this year for our clients and site staff's Christmas trees. For every tree with a bauble hanging on it, we will donate £20 to @singlehomelessproject. Last year we raised over £900.00 and hope to supersede this. If you would like a bauble please reach out to any of team, or of course email us and we will arrange to have one delivered. Th

12 of the largest real estate consultancies in the UK are behind a new competition to encourage more young people to consider how they can positively impact the future build environment, with internships awarded to 5 winners. The Property Needs You Challenge asks young people to submit design ideas for a local space in their town, city, school or neighbourhood that would benefit from a makeover and design thinking. All types of spaces – including buildings, parks, schools, streets and stations – can becom

In response to the Autumn Statement, Andrew Baldwin, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered membership organisation for the project profession, said: “There are reasons to be optimistic about some of the measures announced. We welcome the Chancellor’s nod to stability through plans to support investment, boost skills and improve efficiency in many of the key areas where projects take place, such as technology, house-building and advanced manufactur

A property management specialist has successfully represented the freeholder in a high-profile court case between millionaire neighbours.  Leasehold specialist Cassandra Zanelli, founder of Property Management Legal Services, instructed barrister David Hoffman to act for the landlord of North End House in West Kensington, London.  In Central London County Court trial, residents Sergey Grazhdankin and wife Maria sued upstairs neighbours Medhi Guissi and wife Meriem El Harouchi over noise nuisance after the

The UK’s leading property management company, FirstPort, has secured funding through the Government’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) The funding aims to benefit residents living in developments with district and communal heat network systems by supporting improved efficiency and helping to reduce future costs. FirstPort applied to the HNES to improve the efficiency of the heat network at Victory Pier in Gillingham, Kent (pictured) and the development was selected to receive funding in November 2023

Zain Rizvi, a 39-year-old management consultant from London, is gearing up for his 25th "Big Sleepout" to support the prevention of youth homelessness through the youth homelessness charity St. Basils. Born and raised in Birmingham, Zain's dedication to this cause began at the age of 14 when he participated in his first Sleepout after learning about the event from a schoolteacher. Over the past 25 years, Zain, with the support of his ever-generous friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers, has raise

The second ‘Proper Talk’ – a lively property panel discussion forum – is to be held on Thursday 1 February 2024, 830am at Building Centre, 26 Store Street London WC1E 7BT, just off Tottenham Court Road. You will have the opportunity to network over breakfast before the panel session which starts at 9am, and afterwards too. Discussions will be centred around topical property insurance issues, of which there are several, causing managing agents and freeholders significant headaches. We aim to provide you wi