© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
In January, a High Court decision in the case of Phillips v Francis caused widespread concern throughout the industry. The then Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Andrew Morritt, ruled that, without appropriate dispensation, all qualifying works in a building are subject to consultation in advance if they will cost any flat owner more than £250. Critics said this could lead to delays for leaseholders getting essential works done, as well as rising management fees, plus uncertainty for landlords on when to consult.
NOTB also reported that the Government was challenged in the House of Lords on the existing £500 costs limit in the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. Baroness Gardner raised the point that while LVT allowed every leaseholder to bring their case to tribunal, many landlords were charging their heavy legal expenses back through management schemes in blocks of flats.
The statutory regulation of letting agents of residential property was introduced, bringing them more into line with other areas of estate agency. Baroness Hayter successfully tabled an amendment to the Enterprise Bill in the House of Lords, in a move that was welcomed by the British Property Federation. However several amendments affecting leasehold property management were withdrawn.
In other news, law firm Boodle Hatfield called for new legislation making it easier for developers to give a clear brand and lifestyle identity to new large estates in London, therefore allowing them to build and maintain better places to live and work. This was often difficult, the company added, because many of the city’s newest estates have complex and fragmented ownership structures and tenures.
A last minute amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill was introduced by the Government, requiring managing agents in the residential leasehold sector to offer leaseholders and freeholders access to an approved ‘redress scheme’. However the amendment did not make provision for the regulation of managing agents. The amendment will also apply to letting and managing agents operating in the private rented sector.
Housing Minister, Mark Prisk MP, made the move after a determined campaign in Parliament. The decision was welcomed by organisations including ARMA and the British Property Federation.
NOTB reported how residential managing agents are to be independently regulated for the first time under a new regime launched by the Association of Residential Managing Agents. The regime, to be known as ARMA-Q, aims to raise standards for leaseholders and includes commitment to a new consumer charter and industry standards for ARMA agents.
July 2013 saw the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal become the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The new Property Chamber brings together Rent Assessment Committees, Leaseholder Valuation Tribunals, Residential Property Tribunals, Rent Tribunals, Agricultural Land Tribunals and the jurisdiction of the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry. A new set of procedural rules provide the Property Chamber with greater powers than were previously available to them.
A new procedure for buying and selling flats was introduced to speed up property transactions by between 5 and 10 days, NOTB reported in Issue 68. The Leasehold Property Enquiries Form (LPE1) is a standardised questionnaire developed and approved by the Law Society, RICS, ARMA, the BPF and other major property industry trade bodies. Aimed at avoiding the complications and expensive delays previously experienced by buyers and sellers of leasehold properties, LPE1 will capture information about a property such as details of ground rate and service charges.
Meanwhile, a Government reshuffle saw Mark Prisk MP removed as the Housing Minister and replaced by Kris Hopkins MP. Mr Hopkins was made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – with David Cameron downgrading the housing role from a frontline government post.
NOTB reported that the much criticised decision in the Phillips v Francis High Court case could yet be overturned after the Court of Appeal granted permission for an appeal to go ahead.
In other news, government proposals to speed up the judicial review process, including creating a dedicated Land and Planning Chamber to review planning-related appeals, were welcomed by the British Property Federation (BPF). The new chamber would see judicial review decisions relating to major developments taken only by expert judges and would take advantage of a streamlined process so they are considered as quickly as possible.