© 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.
There was a time when I lived at high density and enjoyed it, but I reached a point in life when I changed and other needs came along and the point is surely that the development and architectural communities should satisfy a variety of needs, some people will love living at high density for a range of very good reasons, others not, and both should be catered for.
Aside from Sir Terry’s chosen example, what really struck me about his article was the absence of any mention of management. During my time in high density I lived in some very well designed developments and some that were plain ugly and I can’t say it impinged so much on my quality of life as my experiences of poor management. When a scrapped car is dumped in the communal parking area and nobody cares, or you are suffering antisocial behaviour, or when repairs to the common parts remain undone, from my experience it has a far greater impact on your general well-being than whether there is a nice communal garden.
Sir Terry is not alone in writing about housing matters in a variety of journals, with a breed of architects who almost have pop star status. The same cannot be said of property management. Where are the champions, the knighthoods, lordships and general recognition that will elevate this terribly important occupation up the public consciousness?
Back to reality and I have a consultation paper sitting on my desk, which contains the Government’s response to the Rugg Review of the private rented sector. Amongst other issues, it suggests licensing of letting agents, but with less publicity, licensing of managing agents as well. As the representative body for landlords the British Property Federation (BPF) wants to ensure that leasehold management is professional. ARMA has done so much during my time at the BPF to raise standards, but its members presently compete on an uneven playing field and therefore we will be supporting the licensing of managing agents. I hope in doing so that we are doing our bit with Sir Terry to make high density work better.