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Grant Shapps, the Housing Minister, will not be introducing the long-awaited accounting regulations which would have afforded protection to flat owners service charge money. The announcement follows Shapps decision earlier this year not to introduce formal regulation of the property management sector.
Managing agents are dismayed. Brett Williams, Chairman of ARMA said, “….we are given to understand [Shapps] reason is to reduce the regulatory burden. On whom? The very rogues who do not handle lessee money properly.”
The expected accounting changes were heralded by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and would have required service charge funds to be kept in a separate designated bank account, usually by their managing agent. Flat owners would also have had the right to a full set of annual service charge accounts and an accountant’s report.