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BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LEASEHOLD LIVING - 22nd August
2008
By
Alan Davis, Partner,
Penyards Lettings & Property Management, Winchester
With the ever increasing number of flats being built
around the city, more and more people are living in
leasehold property and learning the trials and
tribulations of living in shared buildings. Some
unexpected concepts arise: for example one does not own
a flat, but own an agreement to occupy the flat for a
certain period of time.
Almost all recently built blocks of flats have a
resident owned company which has responsibility for the
management of the building structure and its common
parts; most of those companies sub-contract the actual
day to day management to a Property Management company
who organise the services required, and handle the legal
and safety related issues which arise, together with the
accounting and service charges which are levied on the
leaseholders.
Penyards Property Management has been managing blocks
of flats around the city and Hampshire for 12 years and
has in depth experience in this field. Alan Davis, the
Partner in the firm heading this department of the
business comments, “This part of our business requires
different skills to our Residential Letting and Property
Management activity, requiring much additional training
particularly in relation to the complex legal
relationships that can exist between the leaseholder,
freeholder, management company and their managing
agent.”
As every block of flats is unique, so is the service
offered; tailored to meet the needs of the building and
its occupants, with a management plan in place to ensure
that exactly the right services are arranged for each
building. Those plans include regular inspections of the
site, to ensure that it is in good order, and that the
services are operating correctly. The negotiation and
implementation of the insurances which protect the
building and its owners is part of the service, along
with the organisation and management of the meetings and
Annual General Meetings that are required.
If the building in which you live requires
professional management, contact Alan Davis at Penyards
for further advice and assistance.
For further advice on Property Management or any
other queries on the law of lettings and block
management please write to Alan Davis, Partner, Penyards
Property Management, 23 Southgate Street Winchester SO23
9EB, email
alandavis@penyards.co.uk or call 01962 860303
RISING RENTALS REAP REWARDS!! -
19th June 2008
By Judith Davis, Partner,
Penyards Lettings and Property Management, Winchester
With doom and gloom in the sales market and the prospect
of more to follow - what is happening to the rental
market?
From January to May 2008 there was a steady supply of
properties coming for rental albeit slightly down on the
previous years.
Applicant tenants during this period were, however,
in shorter supply.
People were only moving if they had to and the rest
were just watching and waiting. Vendors were giving it
one last go and leaving their houses on the market until
the end of May ie after Easter and the two May Bank
Holidays. Nothing changed for them, however, and as a
result, since the beginning of June, the rental market
has been booming! We have doubled the number of
properties available throughout Hampshire to around 50.
On average we are valuing 15 new properties per week and
most of these are houses that are not selling!
In addition the supply of prospective tenants has
risen threefold, followed by a dramatic increase in
those making a quick decision to take a rental property.
The demand is there for all types of accommodation from
one bedroom flats at around £500 per month to the larger
family houses for £3000+ per month.
In opposition to the sales market and as predicted,
the rental market is most certainly on the up! Those few
people who have managed to sell are moving into a
flexible rental home and bedding down – eager to see
just how far house prices will fall! With the prospect
of a further 0.75% mortgage interest rise by the end of
2008 and borrowings more difficult to obtain, the fall
will no doubt continue well into 2009. Some are
predicting for many years.
The last time this drop in prices and rise in
interest rates hit hard was at the end of the 1980s when
disheartened vendors began for the first time to move
over to the rental market. However, at that time the
phrase “sitting tenant” was still very common – only
with the introduction of The Housing Act 1988 and 2004
was greater protection afforded to landlords. Since then
legislation has included the mandatory introduction of
Gas Safety Certificates, Electrical Safety guidelines,
Furnishings and Fire Regulations, Houses in Multiple
Occupation, Housing Health and Safety Rating System,
Tenancy Deposit Schemes to name a few - giving increased
comfort and peace of mind for all concerned. In fact
there has never been a better time to be a tenant or
landlord! Unlike the late 1980s –the rental market is
offering a safe alternative enabling people to move even
if they cannot sell or buy a home.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PROPERTY MANAGER! - 12th
May 2008
By Judith Davis, Partner,
Penyards Lettings & Property Management, Winchester
Everybody knows what a Lettings Agent does but not
many know what goes on behind the scenes in the hectic
and challenging life of a Property Manager!
Once a property is let, if it is fully managed, the
real work of the Lettings and Property Management
company is only just beginning!
Usually by the start of the tenancy the Property
Manager has visited the property, met the landlord and
acquainted themselves with the house and any
idiosyncrasies that may exist – from where the oil tank
is situated and how to work the water softener to
details of the gardener to how to clean the marble
bathroom. Notes are made and added to the “bible” of
detailed information already supplied by the landlord on
forms provided by the lettings company. This will be the
reference point while the property is managed.
Once the tenant has moved in the Manager advises the
utilities and Council Tax Office of the new occupiers,
transfers the services into their name and settles the
final accounts on behalf of the landlords.
The Property Manager will also: Arrange annual gas
and electrical inspections; visit the property every
three months to ascertain it is being looked after by
the tenant and to check for maintenance issues; report
defects to the landlord; arrange works (this can be
anything from boiler repairs to window replacement to
full decoration/refurbishment to the property) and
authorise payment of invoices.
At the end of the tenancy the Manager will negotiate
the dilapidations to the property with the tenant and
landlord, guided by the strict legislation of the
Tenancy Deposit Scheme enforceable since April 2007.
Necessary repairs and cleaning or gardening will be
arranged and the balance of the deposit will be returned
to the tenant less any costs for damages.
The Property Manager’s job is a daily challenge which
requires diplomacy, accuracy, attention to detail,
excellent time management and good negotiation
techniques – it is a tough job demanding a high level of
training but very rewarding when done well!
TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME … HOW SAFE IS YOUR
DEPOSIT!! - 28th March 2008
By Judith Davis, Partner,
Penyards Lettings and Property Management, Winchester
On April 6th 2007 there was yet another massive leap
forward in the world of lettings! The Tenancy Deposit
Scheme came into force – and about time!!
Gone are the days that an unsuspecting tenant loses
his deposit to a rogue agent or landlord who decides the
rental property needs upgrading at the ex-tenants cost.
Gone are the days that the student landlord unilaterally
decides to replace carpets and redecorate the student
house because he has £1000 plus deposit in his hands,
burning a hole in his pocket and he knows the students
wont expect to get their deposit back anyway! Gone are
the days where an agent says to the ex-tenant “Im sorry
there is nothing I can do as I act as landlord’s agent
and therefore am duty bound to do what he asks”!!
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is the result of
decades of campaigning by trade bodies such as the
Association of Residential Letting Agents to provide yet
another safety mechanism for landlords and tenants by
ensuring the deposit held for damages at a rental
property is used in a just and fair manner either by the
landlord or the agent.
The result is that within 10 days of a tenancy
starting the deposit MUST not only be registered with an
approved “deposit scheme” (there are three Schemes) but
a certificate provided by the scheme MUST be provided to
the tenant. If this is not done severe penalties may
ensue: the landlord will be required to pay three times
the deposit to the tenant as a fine AND until the
deposit is registered the landlord will not be able to
repossess the property!! This penalty is rigorous and
extreme – and it needed to be to protect the innocent.
Unfortunately not all landlords are aware of this new
law and lack of knowledge will be no defence.
A detailed and timely process for the return of
deposit after the end of the tenancy must now be
followed and any disputed deposit amounts can be
forwarded to an adjudication service for a decision to
be made by a third party.
The above process indicates the paramount importance
of stringent and detailed paperwork as the result of the
claim by the landlord will depend on this.
As can be seen from the above unless a landlord or
tenant has good experience of the law of lettings and
involved procedures they would be wise to let or rent
through an agent who is regulated by a lettings trade
body and therefore can advise and act on preordained
guidelines. These new rules and regulations protect a
tenant’s income and a landlord’s property – however if
the guidelines are not followed everybody can lose out –
and not just pennies but large sums of money can be
lost.
For further advice on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and any
other queries on the law of lettings, property
management and block management of any kind can be
answered by writing to Judith Davis, Partner, Penyards
Property Management, 23 Southgate Street Winchester SO23
9EB Or emailing
judithdavis@penyards.co.uk or calling
01962 860303 |