Mary-Anne Bowring 01/12/2023
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Increase in the National Living Wage will hit leaseholders in 2020
Going up... the increase in the National Living Wage will hit leaseholders in 2020
Many services such as cleaning and gardening contracts provided two blocks of flats rely on minimum wage labour. With the National Living Wage rising in April this year from £8.21 to £8.72 for workers over the age of 25 - an increase of some 6.2% - once again leaseholders are going to feel the pain.
Leaseholders who cannot recover VAT on the servicechargesorted.co.uk/blogs/empowering-leaseholders-in-small-blocks-of-flats'>service charges they pay, continue to suffer from VAT increasing from the previous long-term norm of 17.5% to 20% in 2011. Flat owners, via their servicechargesorted.co.uk/blogs/empowering-leaseholders-in-small-blocks-of-flats'>service charge, have also suffered continual rises in insurance premiums due to both five years of IPT (insurance premium tax) increases from 6% to 12% since 2015; the abolition of the 3.4% national insurance rebate on porters' wages; and a rise from 2% - 3% in employers auto-enrolment pension contributions.
Added to this, the rise in the minimum wage may be small but it is yet another expense to hit leaseholders, already living with the spectre of big bills for safety improvements on their blocks (see our 9 January blog for more on this).
At Ringley all our Relationship Managers are now letting clients know before their March/April budgets that, to be prudent, provisions must be madeblocks for these cost increases
Meet our Expert Property Commentators
Mary-Anne Bowring FTPI FRICS FARLA FCABE Founder/Head of Asset Management
Strategic partnerships, holistic delivery/ opportunities, growth, value engineering, thought leadership
Ian Barber MD BTR Mobilisation & Leasing
Runs HQ & site lease-up teams. Drives rent pricing, mobilisation, marketing, happy residents!
Jon Curtis MRICS Head of Building Engineering
Chartered Building Surveyor. Lectures on EWS1 & building safety. Runs CapEx programmes.
Kate Robinson MTPI MD Blocks/FM Management (London Region)
Master plan setup, ops and staffing and resident engagement. ISO45001 champion.
Lee Harle Partner Ringley Law
Plot conveyancing. Debt litigation. Group Company Secretary.
Anthony Kingdon MIRPM AssocRICS MD Blocks/FM Management (North Region)
Stakeholder engagement. Mixed tenure specialist. Budget management. Plant audit, PPM compliance.
Chris Georgalis MRICS Head of Commercial Valuation
Chartered Valuer. Rental valuations: retail, leisure. IRR modelling and valuations for secured lending. Compulsory purchase & rent reviews
Nichola Pughe MRICS Head of Residential Valuation
Chartered Valuer. Rental development & mixed use valuations, IRR modelling. Leasehold enfranchisement specialist
Natalie Birmingham Helpdesk Support Manager
Trainer & Helpdesk Manager: people, systems,contractors. ISO45001 supply chain accreditation.
Steve Norman Planning Director
Land due diligence (opportunities & constraints) Has contributed to a number of award winning schemes.
