Blogs

Is commonhold really the answer to flat owners' problems?

The new Commonhold Council held its first meeting last month. In 2018 The Law Commission proposed reforms that could be used to develop commonhold as an alternative to leasehold ownership. The new advisory panel will be looking those recommendations to see if they ca...

Leaseholders take to the streets to protest over cladding crisis

When ordinary homeowners take to the streets to protest, it is generally a sign that something is badly wrong. Thousands of leaseholders whose homes have been blighted by the cladding scandal, have now clearly reached the point where they feel they have no other outl...

Fire Safety Law - whats next for leaseholders?

As the Grenfell Tower Inquiry continues through its second phase of hearings examining the causes of the fire, leaseholders in unsafe homes can take little comfort in the Fire Safety Act 2021 made law last month.In the midst of a crisis in building safety standards, ...

One person answering question tourism thinks service charge increasing questionnaire tourism 207725712

Service charges set to increase as flat owners face charges for fire door inspections

Yesterday we blogged about the new Fire Safety Act, setting out what it will mean in practical terms for leaseholders and managing agents. Today, we're taking a look at another important aspect of the legislation - service charges.The new Act is a fundamental sea ch...

Midsection young man bag entering front door coming back home midsection young man bag entering front door 147647250

How fire-safe is your flat front door?

Amidst the parliamentary wrangling over who should pay for cladding remediation, it may have escaped leaseholders’ notice that the new Fire Safety Act, which passed into law in April, includes new rules on front doors. In the past, flat front doors were “demised” to...

All change for possession notices – again!

Landlords hoping to regain possession of a rental property will be pleased to hear that the Government has just announced a change to notice periods. With effect from 1 June, notice periods in England that are currently six months, will reduce to at least four months...

Uk houses parliament london river thames big ben landscape view copy space blue fluffy sky union jack flag flying 56426623

Government turns its attention to renters, leasehold reform and building safety

Today’s Queen’s Speech wasn’t the vehicle to spell out all the detail but it was clear that property reform remains high on the Government’s agenda. As anticipated “laws to modernise the planning system” were included, along with the promise of “measures to end the p...

‘Breathing space’ is not a payment holiday

Landlords frustrated and left out of pocket by the impact of the pandemic on their ability to evict problem tenants, are unlikely to be cheering the introduction of the new debt respite scheme that came into force yesterday. This adds a further two month delay to the...

Three cheers for Ringley's customer service stars

At Ringley, customer service is at the heart of everything we do. So we are proud that one of our Senior Relationship Managers, Karl Bradley, has been named a winner in the Property Hero Awards announced last week. And he’s not the only one. Handover and admin manage...

We say ‘yes’ to a new building safety fund

It is no exaggeration to suggest that by the time the Government’s draft Building Safety Bill passes into law, hundreds of flat owners around the country could have filed for bankruptcy. Such is the depth of the crisis that now faces thousands of people living in bui...