Articles

Everyone is currently looking at quick and easy ways to save money on their energy bills. We have listed a few simple tips to cut costs.

Whether you reside in a historic building or a modern new build apartment, dealing with condensation can be a frustrating challenge.

Horizon take the Health and Safety of individuals with the utmost seriousness.

The best way to protect your home and household from fire is by fitting approved smoke alarms and testing these regularly.

We are often asked by leaseholders what options are available to them for extending the term of their lease. There are essentially 3 options to extend a lease and reduce or completely eliminate the ongoing ground rent requirement. Here’s a quick guide to those options.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill 2021-22 sought to restrict ground rents on newly created long leases on houses and flats to a peppercorn amount (a token of no financial value). The Bill received Royal assent on Tuesday 8 February 2022 and is now law.

Fire doors create a barrier from fire and toxic cold smoke and prevent it from travelling around a building, keeping the damage to a small area, allowing for evacuation, stay put and safe access for emergency services.

The lease imposes an obligation on the Leaseholder to pay the proper service charge and failure to do so is a breach of the lease.

When Service Charge Accounts become overdue, our accounting software, Xero, will show when the Service Charge demand was issued, when it was due for payment, how long overdue the amount is, and the amount that is payable. Xero will send 2 automatic reminders, if nothing is received at this time, either payment or contact, the Leaseholder is then to be contacted by a phone call to see why payment has not been made and kindly asked to bring the account up to date. If no answer, another reminder email is sent and a further call 2 days later. If no contact or payment is made after 4 weeks, a final reminder will be sent out.

A listed building is ‘a building of special architectural or historic interest’. The listed status can cover a whole building, the interior, any attached structures, or later extensions. It is often the age and uniqueness of the building that determines its listed status.

A listed building is ‘a building of special architectural or historic interest’. The listed status can cover a whole building, the interior, any attached structures, or later extensions. It is often the age and uniqueness of the building that determines its listed status.

A listed building is ‘a building of special architectural or historic interest’. The listed status can cover a whole building, the interior, any attached structures, or later extensions. It is often the age and uniqueness of the building that determines its listed status.

Lightning strikes the ground over 350,000 times a year in the UK alone and according to Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents between 30-60 people are struck by lightning each year in the UK, with 5-10% of those resulting in a fatality. Lightning strikes pose significant dangers to buildings and their contents too such as fire risks and power surges – which is avoidable with the correct Lightning Protection.

Monthly inspection checks apply to water, foam, co2, wet chemical and powder extinguishers. These monthly checks are quick, easy to do and shouldn’t take up too much time.

In this article we look to explain the importance of accurate Reinstatement Cost Assessment RCAs when it comes to insurance claims.  

Understanding the origin of the rebuild value in an insurance policy is essential, as is keeping it maintained. The only way to be sure of an accurate sum insured is to instruct an RICS compliant Reinstatement Cost Assessment (RCA) in the first instance and then review this figure annually until a “major review and reassessment” is required, usually three years after the initial RCA.

The legislation obliges a Landlord to offer Leaseholders of a qualifying building, the right to acquire the freehold when the Landlord decides they wish to sell their freehold interest.

We know how important proper, pro-active and prudent management is to making your development a great place to live, and we understand the responsibilities, pressures and complexities that property management can create for Directors of developments.

When you buy an apartment in England or Wales, what you usually get is a lease for the property, this essentially means you own (or legally speaking, have exclusive access rights) for a specific number of years to that property.

Leases are usually created for a number of years such as 99 years, 999 years or 125 years. 

As leases get closer to their expiry date, the owner ( leaseholder) should consider whether they wish to extend this lease to retain their possession of the property. As the lease term decreases, the value of the property also decreases and the cost of increasing the lease length increases. Also mortgage lenders invariably have criteria where they insist on a certain minimum number of years left on the lease.

Unfortunately, this is something all RMC directors must consider, but especially those with buildings in major cities. Terror threat levels in the UK have been fluctuating between ‘severe’ and ‘critical’ since August 2014, with the capital and provincial cities being considered at the highest risk.

Under new Fire Safety legislation introduced in 2006, the responsible person for a premise is required to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Businesses no longer need a fire certificate, but evidence of assessments will be required.

If your building has more than 5 regular occupants, the Fire Risk Assessment must be in writing.

The idea of ‘buying’ or ‘owning a leasehold flat’ is a misconception – perpetrated by estate agents in my opinion. It’s a misconception because you’re not buying the flat – you’re buying a lease, which entitles you to use the flat, for an awfully long time.

Everyone is currently looking at quick and easy ways to save money on their energy bills. We have listed a few simple tips to cut costs.

It can be surprising just how regularly they need to be checked and serviced. However, they’re a vital piece of equipment in the protection of people and businesses, so neglecting a fire extinguisher’s maintenance could result in a disaster.

Asbestos remains the UK’s biggest workplace killer; 20 tradesmen die a week from past exposure to Asbestos. This is why it is so important that we control Asbestos and ensure that people (such as Contractors, Tenants and Property Managers) are not exposed to it during their everyday working activities.

Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular option for motorists both in the UK and further afield – and with good reason. As we continue to learn more about our impact on the planet, many of us are looking for a greener alternative for our everyday travel needs.

There are a lot of considerations that need to be made when managing a block or property. From collecting service charges to managing everyday maintenance, an effective block manager will wear many hats. But one consideration that may often go unnoticed is the importance of Reinstatement Cost Assessments. In this post, we take a deep dive into Reinstatement Cost Assessments, answering all the most important questions, from what they are to how they work for different property types.

Becoming a leaseholder is a common occurrence for property buyers – in fact, the majority of flats in the UK are sold under a leasehold agreement. But while leasehold dwellings accounted for 19% of dwellings in England in 2019-20, moving into a leasehold flat or house for the first time can have its surprises.

A block management company is a professional property management company responsible for managing and maintaining communal areas and facilities in blocks of flats or apartments. These companies are appointed by the freeholder and are accountable for the building’s overall maintenance and management. Block management companies can perform various tasks, from financial management to property maintenance, […]

Owning a property in any capacity is a huge responsibility that can come with a seemingly unlimited number of considerations. I mean, what happens if something goes wrong? What if you have to arrange for repairs or improvements to be made? What are you liable for if things don’t go according to plan?

Leaseholders have specific rights regarding service charges, which are fees charged by the landlord or management company to cover the cost of maintaining and repairing the building and any communal areas. These rights are designed to ensure that leaseholders are charged fairly and that the charges are reasonable.   Leaseholder Key Rights to Service Charges: […]

While the name might draw up connotations of weddings and nuptials, ‘marriage value’ is actually a term used to refer to the value of a leasehold property. More specifically, it refers to the difference between a leasehold property’s value before and after the 80-year lease is extended. In other words, the Marriage Value of a property reflects the extra market value of a leasehold property once the lease has been extended.

As a fundamental part of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report, The Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have now been introduced. The Regulations are being introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order 2005.

Several issues can become grounds for contention between landlords and leaseholders – particularly regarding service charges and ground rents.