Service Charges in Property Management

This course is now complete and a link to the recordings will be shared with all attendees. If you have not registered but would like to receive access to the recordings, please email Tamara Cmiljic at TamaraC@henrystewart.co.uk 

Service charge provisions are a common fact of life for landlords and tenants in multi-occupied properties and estates.  The changing landscape with better informed and more financially aware tenants, professional regulation, diminishing lease terms which are no longer fully amortising and potential further legislative intervention all make for a more challenging property management landscape for those involved with service charges.

This online series of in-depth briefings seeks to appraise both the legal and practical issues commonly encountered in practice.  An ideal course designed for property managers, managing agents, residents' companies and lawyers responsible for drafting and negotiating leases.

Including:

• The law and policy framework
• Practical interpretation for both commercial and residential real estate
• Problem solving
• Contractual processes
• Lease drafting tips
• Watch out points and avoiding pitfalls

Sign up for this series and receive the following:

• Detailed briefings on:
  • Inherent conflicts between landlords and tenants
  • Budgets, auditing, certificates and management costings
  • Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and Regulations
  • Common shortcomings in leases and the contractual processes
  • Drafting suitable lease provisions
  • RICS Service Charge Codes
• No important area will be overlooked – there will be the use of a case study throughout to demonstrate the ‘what’ and ‘how’
• Four 75 minutes detailed sessions spread over two mornings, including answers to questions from participants on the challenges they are facing
• Unable to attend all sessions or joining part way through?  Recordings will be available for all registrants

About the series

This online series is expertly crafted to be practical and to update you with the latest law and policy surrounding service charges, both from the perspective of a commercial property venture and also residential property.  With the use of a case study, the series will tackle the very real problems that arise time and time again in drafting leases and in day-to-day management – and as there are multiple ways to mess-up, this new course is designed to ensure that you don’t.  The basis of the briefings will focus on the following:

One: freeholders (and intermediary landlords for that matter) want to generate income from ownership of their properties, net of the costs of ownership.  Two: the costs of ownership and occupation can be substantial.  Three: there is no right to recover these costs from occupiers unless there is an agreement obligating occupiers to pay.  Four: in multi-occupied buildings it will be necessary to apportion costs between occupiers (and some space may, at any given time be vacant).  Five: some substantial cost may occur only infrequently – we must be fair between present and future tenants.  Six: owners may not own the property for ever – what should we do about that possibility?  Seven: the law is not silent on the rights and duties of landlords and tenants – and there are codes of practice to take into account.

On completion of this course you should know what to do, when, why and how.  You will be equipped to avoid the all too many pitfalls waiting for the unwary.

Sessions:

Session 1: The Legal Landscape of Service Charges 
Session 2: Practicalities of Running Service Charge Accounts - Part I
Session 3: Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 ("Section 20") and the Attendant Regulations
Session 4: Practicalities of Running Service Charge Accounts - Part 2