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Putting the property management pieces in place |
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NEWS15th May Owners of leasehold flats to get new safeguards Owners of leasehold flats will get greater protection against poor service from managing agents following the launch of a new regulatory regime today. The new regime, which has received cross-party support, has been developed by the industry’s trade body ARMA and contains a number of measures specifically designed to protect leaseholders. Read more at: http://www.arma.org.uk/doc/public/Owners-of-leasehold-flats-to-get-greater-protection.pdf
16th April Government Move to Protect Leaseholders Welcomed A Government amendment to the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Bill that will require residential leasehold managing agents to sign up to a redress scheme has been welcomed by ARMA, the industry’s leading trade body. Read more at:
7th March Daejan S20 Case - Supreme Court Decision The case of Daejan V Benson has become a leading case in the interpretation of dispensation and S20. (This is quite different to the recent Phillips v Francis case and the meaning of qualifying works.) In 2011 it was decided in the Court of Appeal but Daejan appealed to the Supreme Court. You can read the decision [2013] UKSC 14 on appeal from: [2011] EWCA Civ 38 at: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/decided-cases/docs/UKSC_2011_0057_Judgment.pdf
17th January High Court decision changes perceptions of S20 A recent decision in the High Court (Phillips & Goddard v Francis) has completely overturned the accepted view of when S20 consultation may be required for works. Read more... 4th December Public consultation opens on regulation of managing agents Members of the public are being given a unique opportunity to shape the way that managing agents are regulated. A two-month public consultation was launched today by the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) on a new self-regulatory regime for its members. The new regime, ARMA-Q, will set stringent standards of service for ARMA managing agents and significantly improve the lives of people living in managed blocks of flats. Read more...
11th October Keith Hill Appointed as Independent Regulator of Residential Managing Agents The Rt Hon Keith Hill, Minister for Housing & Planning under Tony Blair and former MP for Streatham, will lead a new self-regulatory regime for residential managing agents. It will be the first time that managing agents have been subject to independent regulation and marks a welcome improvement in protection for leaseholders. Read more...
11th October New Look for ARMA!
ARMA is currently undergoing a brand refresh including a new logo and extended brand style. Our members can start using the new logo immediately and all should be using it by May 2013. We are rolling the new logo and branding out in stages; it will start appearing in printed material from Oct 2012, with the final stage scheduled for Jan 2013 in the form of a new website. You may come across two ARMA logos in this time, old and new, but please bear with us until the process is complete!
21st August Challenging Service Charges The recent Channel 4 Dispatches programme raised important issues about leasehold property management in general and about service charges in particular. As the principal professional membership body for managing agents, ARMA has a wealth of information that is available to leaseholders about their rights. Here is a short guide for leaseholders on what they can do to challenge unreasonable service charges: http://www.arma.org.uk/doc/public/ServiceChrgeRights-313.pdf 18th June Would you like to make a difference to the lives of thousands of people who live in leasehold flats by raising standards and promoting customer service? ARMA’s governing Council is seeking to appoint an independent regulatory chair and supporting panel to certify and oversee accreditation of existing and new ARMA members and ensure continued compliance with the standards of its ARMA-Q project.The independent regulator would determine disciplinary cases brought before the panel, review the operation of the regime and publish an annual report to ARMA Council on its effectiveness in providing consumer protection for leaseholders. Read more...
3rd May 2012 Leaseholders Let Down by New Energy Code Thousands of residential leaseholders could face hefty backdated energy bills despite a new Code of Practice that is supposed to protect them, ARMA has warned. Read more...
24th April 2012 ARMA Welcomes Lords' Call for Leasehold Regulation, Education and Transparency Calls for regulation of managing agents, better education of leaseholders and transparency of service charges have been welcomed by the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA). These were key points raised by Baroness Gardner of Parkes in a debate about the leasehold sector in the House of Lords yesterday. Read more...
16th April 2012 ARMA Welcomes 110th Affiliate ARMA now has 110 Affiliates! These include self-managing Residents Management Companies, law and accountancy firms, banks, local authorities, freehold investors, service providers and housing associations - generally those not directly involved in leasehold block management but with an interest in the sector. Affiliation is also offered to property management firms that are working towards full corporate membership but cannot yet meet all the membership conditions, such as the two year period of successful trading. Affiliates receive all the internal benefits of Corporate membership, such as technical advice and training discounts.
22nd March 2012 ANOTHER MILESTONE - ARMA MEMBERSHIP HITS 270 ARMA is pleased to welcome Goldsborough Estates Limited as its 270th corporate member. Not only is it pleasing to see the membership continually growing (we’ve welcomed 10 new members over this financial year) but it is also good to see the variety of corporate members expanding – membership ranges from small family run businesses looking after local properties to national companies managing tens of thousands of flats across numerous developments. Prospective members must demonstrate they are able to comply with the high standards of management that ARMA demands.
14th March 2012 LEASEHOLDERS ARE BEING PENALISED FOR MISTAKES OF ENERGY COMPANIES Leaseholders are being hit with astronomical bills because of mistakes made by their energy suppliers, ARMA has warned. Read more...
1st March 2012 ARMA recommendations taken up by London Assembly in service charge review
16th January 2012 ARMA APPOINTS NEW CEO The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), the only body in England and Wales to focus exclusively on residential leasehold management, has today announced the appointment of Michelle Banks as its new chief executive. The appointment follows the announcement on 12th October that David Hewett would be retiring after 15 years. Read more...
19th December 2011 ARMA secures major agreement with energy companies to protect leaseholders from disconnectionsThe Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) has reached a major agreement with the big six energy companies to protect leaseholders from power disconnections to the communal areas of their property. The groundbreaking initiative has been driven by ARMA in response to several recent concerns raised by some of its members after the power to communal areas of blocks of flats they manage was cut off. Read more...
8th November 2011 ARMA Promotes Best Practice for Service Charge AccountingFollowing publication of the first detailed guidance on accounting for residential service charges, ARMA has issued advice for leaseholders on the key issues covered. ARMA intends this to help leaseholders understand what they should be expecting from their landlords or managing agents in terms of best practice when it comes to how their service charge money is spent. Read more...
6th October 2011 Property managers put consumers first at major leasehold conferenceThis year's annual conference of leasehold property managers, organised by ARMA, has focused even more closely on making life better for people living in blocks of flats. A ground-breaking initiative to further raise standards in the property management sector and fill the void left by government's failure to regulate, was announced to over 500 managing agent delegates. Read more...
12th September 2011 ARMA urges residents to take action on concealed flues during Gas Safety WeekAs the very first Gas Safety Week gets under way, ARMA is urging people living in blocks of flats to act now to ensure concealed gas flue are safe. Read more...
3rd August 2011 Finally - National Guidance on Fire Safety in Purpose-Built Blocks of FlatsA new guide to fire safety in purpose built blocks of flats has just been published which ARMA hopes will bring some consistency to fire risk assessments in such buildings and help keep residents safe. Read more...
30th June 2011 ARMA and ESC produce crucial guidance on Electrical Safety in Communal AreasThe Electrical Safety Council (ESC) has teamed up with ARMA and a number of other organisations to produce a new guide promoting electrical safety in the communal areas of residential properties in England and Wales. Read more...
16th Feb 2011 First Guidance for Freeholders of Houses on Private EstatesThe right to have service charge money held in trust, to challenge its reasonableness, to see a summary of costs and to be consulted on major works - these are just some of the protections open to leaseholders. Freeholders living on a private estate with obligations to pay service charges for the upkeep of common areas, on the other hand, do not enjoy the same protection even though they are paying for the same service and possibly even into the same fund as leaseholders. It is with this in mind that ARMA has published its first guidance for freeholders encouraging them to be aware of the rights they do have when paying service charges. Read more...
9th Feb 2011 Residential Leaseholders Get Updated Guidance on the Leasehold SystemIt is estimated that there are over 1.8 million private leasehold flats in England and Wales. Unfortunately though, many lessees do not understand the system they have bought into nor are they fully aware of their rights and responsibilities. To help lessees better understand the leasehold system and how it works, ARMA and the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) have just updated and re-launched one of their key guidance booklets, Living in Leasehold Flats. Read more... |
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