© 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.
My experience of property management in general, and residential block management in particular, is that really what managing agents want is to not give service and quite frankly the customer is a nuisance. Now this may also be true of how other professions and industries behave – but it does not make it right.
For example, I am sure we all have tales of solicitors being arrogant and doing things in their timescale, or of a utility company driven on increasing profits and inconveniencing customers along the way. Well, in residential block management some of the practices beggar belief. Let me give some specific examples. Having premium rate phone numbers so it costs your client excessive amounts to call and you profit from it, or taking a rake off on contracts and savings to the service charge.
Now obviously there is the age old debate of whether agents get due financial reward for managing and I have lost count of the number of residents who expect us to give a discount on an information pack but would never dream of getting their lawyer to give a discount. There is always the possibility leaseholders will pay for what they get.
While agents still persist in providing a substandard service then what can we expect? It cannot be right that calls go unreturned, letters take weeks to reply to, issues raised never get resolved, that services charges take over six months to audit, or that a property is inspected once a year! Now, the responsible ones out there will say “this doesn’t apply to us” –perhaps not, but these are all experiences I’ve had recently from managing agents of flats that we own!
Surely the way forward is to raise the bar and start by genuinely giving good service. Now this goes against the grain of the money-grabbing, profit-motivated, greedy misers who believe cutting corners and not dealing with things will make them more money.
But I am sure there are enough well motivated people who will see the light. If not, my company, Chainbow, will grow on the back of true customer service and genuinely caring for its clients. As with organic farming, DDA or green buildings I am sure genuine service could become the norm.
Let us know your comments on this or any other issue by emailing us, editor@newsontheblock.com