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.