Keep pushing the boundaries

Unfortunately it is the bad managing agents and freeholders that create the headlines that highlight the problems. Generally these are the ones not belonging to any organisation or wanting to keep up to date with legislation or best practice.

So the challenge is how the responsible and capable managers and owners can improve the market and service delivery, and rid the leaseholders of the villains and incompetent managers and owners. I feel the only way we can make a difference and keep improving services is to continue to push the boundaries on service delivery and management performance upwards.

If you think about any customer service experience, you know good service from bad; if you think about value for money there is an instinct for when something is expensive.

However, with residential management there will be items of expenditure that the leaseholder may not agree with but it doesn’t make the expenditure wrong. For example, expenditure on health and safety inspections, and electrical testing can be questioned, but is required.

Of course the world is full of different people with different perspectives and appreciations. If you have a row of terraced houses each will be maintained differently. Some will be well maintained, some will look tatty and unkempt, and everything in between. Some people know they have to maintain their homes and some do not.

This same mentality translates into blocks of flats - the block manager has to maintain and meet the lease and legal obligations otherwise they can face action from various quarters. Therefore the profession needs to up its game constantly in communication and management performance - at the same time being a psychologist, behavioural economist, lawyer and counsellor.

There’s still a long way to go to make leasehold homes all managed efficiently and effectively, but awareness and understanding is the start of the journey.

Roger Southam is Chair of the Leasehold Advisory Service