© 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.
Property management and the regulation of managing agents has been given high priority by consumer-rights program BBC Watchdog. In a program first broadcast on 20th April 2009, BBC Watchdog, focussed on groups of leaseholders who had experienced problems with their managing agent. The program was a follow-up to an earlier program called Mould Growing in Flats about leaseholder Carrie Murray and the problems she was facing in her building in East London. In the latest program, more groups of leaseholders shared the problems they had been facing about high management fees and poor service. Although the examples used may appear extreme, they are a typical reflection of the types of problems News on the Block’s postbag is often receiving.
BBC Watchdog offered various property management tips for leaseholders experiencing similar problems. These property management tips mainly focussed on the regulation of property management and managing agents, right to manage (RTM) and leasehold enfranchisement. However, it is also important for leaseholders to be aware that they can challenge their service charges if they believe they are not receiving the service they are being charged for.
The Federation of Private Residents Associations (FPRA) spokesperson, Boby Smytherman, featured on BBC Watchdog to push for the regulation of managing agents. Smytherman believes that property management is overdue for regulation. Smytherman will be familiar to regular readers of News on the Block having written for us on several topics.
Kat Callo, speaking on BBC Watchdog, advocated Right to Manage (RTM) or Leasehold Enfranchisement (Buying your Freehold) as a solution to property management troubles. Kat is known to readers of News on the Block, having previously written articles about leasehold enfranchisement for our magazine. News on the Block regularly features articles about Right to Manage (RTM) and Leasehold Enfranchisement.
The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) was represented on BBC Watchdog by Andrew McKeer. Andrew McKeer is also an Honorary Consultant to the Federation of Private Residents Associations (FPRA). McKeer was supportive of calls that the property management industry needs to be regulated. McKeer bemoaned the fact that the Government have little interest or money to put the regulation of property management on the statute books.