Featured Articles

With the continuing trend towards investing in property showing no signs of slowing down, a leading Swindon law firm has warned that landlords may be caught out by new rules in the licensing of Houses of Multiple Occupation introduced at the end of last year. And it could cost them dearly. House prices are continuing to rise and more people are renting, so investing in a property to let, or to convert into flats to let, is an attractive proposition to many.Nita King, Partner of law firm, Lemon & Co points

Buildings insurance is a major expense, yet it is the marginal addition of a small premium to cover the liabilities of volunteer management company directors that seem to concern lessees more! Natalie Hughes argues that the protection this cover affords is something that all directors should insist upon. Insurance is typically the largest single item of recurring expenditure in a service charge budget and it could be expected that lessees take a keen interest in the policies that directors of their mana

By Ben Lane, News on the Block’s publisher. As a publishing company specialising in the dissemination of good, reliable information to those working in property management, we communicate in many different ways: in print, on-line, by email, by ‘phone and, yes, in face-to-face conversation. Clarity is crucial for effective communication. There is nothing worse than obfuscation. How very annoying it is to listen to 47 different options on a company message service to discover none of them service your que

David Foster explains how the new Work at Height Regulations 2005 affect managing agents and all those working in the residential sector. ‘Working At Height’ conjures up visions of steeplejacks, window cleaners on long ladders, roofers and builders scrambling about on scaffolding. However the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR) apply to all work at height wherever there is a risk of a fall likely to cause injury. This can mean any height above ground level (even inches) where a person could be injure

by Roger Southam, Chief Executive of Chainbow Well, another strange month in the mad whirligig that is residential management! So, there was this block of flats of which some of the owners bought the freehold, and the directors decided it would be a good idea if they took care of the management. After all, the managing agents had been truly awful and how difficult could it be? So, for two years, the directors muddled through. But the service charges went up, they treated the accounts as corporate accoun

Geraldine Shortall, MIRPM, a senior member of the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) Secretariat, examines the opportunities for continuing the professional development of residential property managers. Regular readers of News On The Block may recall an article in issue 25 explaining how the (IRPM) is helping to ensure service standards are maintained via an exam-based portable professional qualification. The question posed then was “Do property managers have sufficient qualifications

When asked if those delivering public services such as housing should be more innovative, one is bound to answer that being entrepreneurial is all very well. But how about all the issues that housing managers deal with on a day-to-day basis, asks Tim West. The following are extracts from a number of letters of complaint sent to various housing managers throughout the UK:- “I wish to report that tiles are missing from the outside toilet roof. I think it was bad wind the other night that blew them off.” “I

Service Charges: Law and Practice Philip Freedman, Eric Shapiro and Brian Slater Now in its fourth edition, is a best-selling guide to the legal framework in which service charges operate. In addition it provides guidance on the management process and related accountancy matters. This new edition provides detailed coverage of the provisions of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 in force, as well as incorporating all new developments and recent case law on such topics as reasonableness, repairs a

The six major UK house price indices show an average of 8.7% growth for the 12 months prior to October 2006. This is a 0.4 % increase on the previous month. (See Graph 1.) The housing market is showing no signs of cooling down driven primarily by the continued imbalance between supply and demand. The average house price, taken from the average price provided by all six major indices is £195,267, up from £194,151 in September. (see Graph 2). Asking prices for homes in England and Wales rose by 1.3% this

Allow a minute to download, then click on the 'Play' button to listen to Interviews with Peter Haler, John Mills, Dr Stokes, Richard Burrows and others at the Association of Retirement Housing Managers Conference 2006 in London.

It is now easier than ever for lessees to enhance the value of their leases in flats or houses as a result of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (the Act). The Act, which has effectively watered-down the requirements to exercise the right to enfranchise, was given Royal Assent in May 2002. Its general intention was to make the Right to Enfranchise and the Right to Manage as similar as possible in their operation, and more particularly, in the context of their formalities. The commencement timeta

Tell us a little about your background and how you came to your role at ARHM? I am a Lancastrian who began my career in housing as a rent collector for a local authority. I moved to the housing association sector and managed an early leasehold scheme for older people, which I really enjoyed. I then worked for two large housing associations and in the private sector for the Peverel Group. In 1997, I decided to become a consultant specialising in leasehold management topics. In 2000, I was approached by the