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The highly successful team at accountants and business advisors Whitley Stimpson are continuing to receive national recognition. Staff have been selected as finalists in the Service Provider Team Award category of The Rewards, a prestigious industry competition for payroll professionals. It is the fourth time the company, which has offices in Banbury, Bicester, High Wycombe and Witney, has made the finals of an awards scheme in the last year showing how highly regarded it is by its peers. Director Jonatha

No article on selling a leasehold property can go without a mention of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and the immense difficulties it has now caused on any leasehold flat being sold.  There is a lot more terminology for sellers (and their solicitors) to wrap their heads around and it is important to familiarise yourself and anticipate issues so that you can save time and cut down on the number of questions once the conveyancing process does get going.  Many solicitors are now declining instructions wh

The new UK Government funded Property Advice Service has launched to support SMEs with commercial property related issues, across all London boroughs until March 2025. The free ‘one stop shop’ service is providing in-person and online advice for small and medium size enterprises, micro-businesses and solopreneurs who are struggling with issues such as re-negotiating leases, paying rent arrears, the new energy efficiency rating and business rate relief schemes. For the next 18 months ventures across Greate

Last Wednesday, The BBC’s Rip-Off Britain covered the story of Daniel Bruce and his neighbours. Having bought flats in a new building in Camden in 2019, they have been battling the developers, the building inspector and warranty provider to fix their structurally unsound home. Things are so bad, independent surveyors have recommended the demolition of the building. It’s a shocking but not unfamiliar tale of “nightmare new builds”. The Secretary of State for Housing, Michael Gove, who was interviewed for t

Leading property management firm Rendall & Rittner has been appointed to manage New South Quarter in Croydon, a residential development of over 800 apartments. Providing a dedicated team to look after residents’ needs, Rendall & Rittner took over management services at the beginning of October. The development joins the company’s growing portfolio of over 80,000 homes under management nationwide. New South Quarter is a contemporary urban village built by Barratt Homes conveniently located less than a mile

Hopefully the Principle Accountable Person (PAP) will have now registered their high risk buildings, and they and/or their agents will be working towards creating a building safety case and safety case report in advance of 1st April 2024. From that date the Building Safety Regulator will start calling in Tranche One buildings (those over 30m, with more than 150 units or buildings where the Regulator is aware of existing safety issues) for assessment. Clearing the registration and safety case report hurdle

In these extraordinary times, there are clearly additional considerations that need to be made when appointing contractors to carry out essential maintenance works. If you are responsible for a block, it is vital that you review all of your contractor’s procedures and safe working methods in respect of risk management. Though it is, of course, highly important that you continue to take these precautions, Fire is not the only risk that contractors and Property Managers should consider when maintenance work

When a new-build residential development approaches completion, incoming Resident Directors may relish the prospect of managing a blank canvas of a development. However, the reality is that bringing the site to this point will have taken collaboration from a number of parties involved in the mobilisation process, often including a specialist property manager. Mobilisation of a residential development is the culmination of all parties buying into one vision – from the developer’s initial concept, which has

Housing supply rather than the private rented sector (PRS) made the headlines during the Conservative and Labour Party conferences this year as the main parties committed only to the basics – delivering more homes across the country. While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not mention housing at all during his keynote speech in Manchester, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to build 1.5m new homes and new towns by reforming planning laws and securing private finance. But while everyone can agree supply

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (“the Bill”) is making its way through the final stages of the legislative process, with the Lords’ amendments due to be considered on 17 October, before it proceeds to Royal Assent. This Bill presents an opportunity to fix the “lease extension problem” that has arisen out of the Building Safety Act. Clause 251 of the Bill is a noble effort to improve matters for leaseholders. But it poses the question whether rushing through a hurried amendment risks more unintended

It’s finally that time - the eagerly awaited shortlist for the PMAs 2023 is here!  News on the Block are excited to announce the shortlist for the Property Management Award 2023.  The awards recognise excellence in the property management industry, and the shortlist features some of the most innovative and successful companies from across our sector.  Our judges have spent a lot of time reviewing all entries and meeting to confirm the final shortlist for 2023. We would like to extend our thanks to all of

Abloy UK has supplied its SMARTair access control system to Your Apartment for its new aparthotel based in the centre of Milton Keynes. The system provides flexible and easy-to-use access for its 65 one-bed and studio apartments and gym. Your Apartment is a rapidly growing serviced apartment and aparthotel operator based in the UK. They champion a considered, tech driven and design-led approach with over 300 serviced apartments across Bristol, London and Milton Keynes. Your Apartment – Milton Keynes is th