Articles

With a leasehold, you own the property (subject to the terms of the leasehold) for the length of your lease agreement with the landlord. When the lease ends, ownership returns to the landlord, unless you can extend the lease. You won’t technically own the property outright, the landlord will continue to own the property and the […]

We see quite a few misconceptions when it comes to leasehold properties. Some of the most common are briefly described below. I have bought my flat, you can’t tell me what to do. As a leaseholder, you don’t own the bricks and mortar of the flat, nor do you own the land on which it […]

If you buy a leasehold property, you normally have to pay the freeholder “ground rent” as the freeholder is leasing you the land that the house is stood on. This is because as a leaseholder, you don’t own the bricks and mortar of the property, nor do you own the land on which it is […]

A solid, legally-binding lease is essential, but a good building management company is the key to making sure the obligations in the lease are kept.

Ensuring you have insurance cover for buildings is essential. However, it is not simply a case of being insured, you need to make sure the building is valued correctly. If you are under-insured, you would be leaving yourself exposed to potential costs in the event of a claim – or if you are over-insured you […]

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. Why has this Act come about? In England and Wales, […]

During the course of the conveyancing process your solicitor may have discovered a restriction on the title to the flat in favour of the landlord or the residential management company that would prevent you being registered as the new proprietor or owner unless the land registry is provided with a certificate of compliance. A certificate […]

This is a guide to the typical events in selling a leasehold property. It is good for leaseholders to have a general understanding of the process and how they can assist in the sale. One of the most important documents you will require (and should already have) is a copy of your lease. Your managing […]

We love block management and want to share some handy tips….

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 […]

Both these terms refer to legal rights provided to all leaseholders under the Landlord and Tenant law, which must be upheld by freeholders. In return, freeholders are entitled to receive a premium as compensation for their financial loss. Enfranchisement What is enfranchisement? Enfranchisement refers to a transaction in which a leaseholder purchases the freehold of […]

The property sector and customers need confidence in a profession that are able to manage and lead in technical and specialist disciplines so the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) is the professional body for property management professionals and provides nationally accredited qualifications. IRPM is dedicated to supporting, building, and setting the standards of the […]

As we are approaching the end of the current financial period, we have issued the new Service Charge Block Budget to all Leaseholders. This will come into effect for the period 1 January – 31 December 2022. Please adjust your direct debits accordingly. As always, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to […]

We are in the process of gathering quotes for parking bay line painting in the rear car park area. This should alleviate the issue of poorly parked vehicles due to the lack of current markings so that more vehicles can park in this area. We will look to do this in the main car park […]

Dear Leaseholders,   Now that we have been in place at Winckley House for a few months we wanted to provide a few updates on what has been done so far and what lies ahead for Winckley House. Bin Store, Cleaning and Fire Safety Equipment Testing We have put in place a weekly cleaning and […]

We have had a number of complaints regarding dogs in the building and waste left in corridors and outside the communal entrance. This is not only unneighbourly but also a Health and Safety concern which we wish to address immediately. According to the terms of each lease, in order to keep an animal in the […]

We have arranged for a smart meter to be installed on the communal electricity supply in each of the electricity meter rooms at Fairway View. This will ensure that the utility supplier is getting an accurate reading ensuring that the block is paying the correct amount for the communal electricity. These smart meters will be […]

As part of our cyclical maintenance plan, we are redecorating the communal hallways. We have found that a darker colour on the bottom half of the wall helps keep the area looking smarter for longer. We will do this in stages so please bear with us while we get to your corridor.

The block cleaners will be at Winckley House every Wednesday morning. High traffic areas, such as the entrance hallway and the main stairwell, will be cleaned weekly. This includes the vacuum of all carpeted areas, dusting of skirting boards and removal of any litter. The junk mail rack will also be emptied and any discarded […]

I’m sure you will be happy to know we arranged for a window cleaner to attend Bridgefield Court yesterday to clean all the exterior windows so you can enjoy looking out in this beautiful weather!

***UPDATE 14/09/2021*** One lift is up and running. The lift company are waiting on a part to make the necessary repairs to the second lift – engineers are booked in on 20/9/21. ***UPDATE 13/09/2021*** Reports of lifts not working We have received multiple reports of the lifts not working. We were aware of a lift […]

Since taking on the management of Winckley House, a number of Leaseholders, residents and letting agents have been in touch to report vehicles parked incorrectly or inconsiderately in the parking areas at Winckley House.   We know how frustrating this can be and therefore had proposed to instruct a parking enforcement company to patrol the […]

Since taking on the management of Bridgefield Court last November, Horizon has taken on the role of Company Secretary and have undertaken significant due diligence.   As part of the terms within the lease, each Leaseholder automatically becomes a member of the Residents Management Company.   This had not been allocated correctly prior to our […]

You may have noticed contractors in the communal areas replacing or adjusting the doors. These doors are fire doors and are designed to hold back a fire for 30 minutes giving Fire Fighters time to put out a fire or get residents to safety.   These fire doors have a crucial role to play in […]

A very generous resident has kindly offered to continue with the communal cleaning at Fairway View at no expense to the block. Please give her a big thank you if you see her in the corridor!

Flat fire doors   It is our legal responsibility as managing agent of Fairway View to ensure that a Fire Risk Assessment is conducted. All blocks of flats must have a risk assessment carried out on the fire risk and health and safety of any common areas. An action point from the assessment we had […]

Hopefully you will have noticed that the communal carpets have been given a good clean by a specialist machine to remove the stubborn tracks throughout the ground floor corridors. We will seek to do this on an annual basis. This was conducted as a goodwill gesture by Horizon Management so there will be no charge […]

END OF YEAR SERVICE CHARGE ACCOUNTS We appreciate how important it is for Leaseholders to have financial transparency and to fully understand where their Service Charge monies have gone thus far and how such monies are expected to be spent over the remainder of this financial year. According to the terms of your lease, the […]

There are various tasks we have conducted at the block and we wish to keep you informed of what has been completed. We realise that some of the works we have completed are ‘behind the scenes’ and therefore wanted to lay everything out here so you are aware of how your Services Charges are being […]

A quarter of all insurance claims made on flats are for damage caused by water leaks. The damage costs millions of pounds and causes heartache to those involved and disputes between neighbours over who should pay. Preventing Water Leaks in Flats Bathrooms & Toilets Check the condition of all your seals. These are the white […]

As with all electro/mechanical equipment, lifts reach a point when parts begin to fail, and the reliability of service is compromised. The balancing act is to pre-empt this before major component failure, resulting in a lift being out of service for a prolonged period. A controller failure can leave a lift out of service from […]

Meeting fire safety requirements is critical to people’s lives, property, and belongings, especially in blocks of flats. Landlords and their agents, tenants and homeowners all have responsibilities regarding this vital matter. And every resident should know what to do in case of a fire. This document provides general guidance, so residents can help by doing […]