Flat-Living.co.uk ARMA
Flat-Living.co.uk ARMA
Why does a building need to be managed at all?
A building will not manage itself, and there is much to be done if the leaseholders are to receive the services promised in the leases and the building kept in good repair; insurance needs to be put in place and renewed on time; bills need to be paid and services maintained; local authority and legal requirements must be met. The leaseholders’ capital investment in their flats must be maintained and their individual rights of enjoyment of the flats ensured.
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repair, both in the specification and pricing of the work and, perhaps more important, in the financial provision for them. The terms of the leases providing for collection of service charges may not necessarily be compatible with the immediate funding needs of the management company or the building. Accurate planning and collection demands an assessment of the needs for the year ahead, some months in advance of that year’s beginning, when shortages of money for urgent works can be serious. Whoever is responsible for the management of the building – whether it is the actual landlord or the leaseholders in the form of a resident management company or Right to Manage company acting in the landlord’s place – will have significant duties and responsibilities under the lease and under legislation. It is essential that the manager fully understands and appreciates these responsibilities if the residents are to receive the services due to them and the building is to be maintained. These responsibilities arise in three areas: covenants in the lease, statutory requirements and codes of management practice.
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COVENANTS IN THE LEASE
The lease sets out both the relationship between the landlord and the individual leaseholder and the rules and obligations to be observed. The leaseholders participating in the management company may agree mutually convenient arrangements between themselves for the collection of service charge monies, rent and timetables for repairs and maintenance. However, if these arrangements are in any way contrary to the lease, they cannot be imposed or otherwise relied upon if a single leaseholder objects; in a dispute, the specific requirements of the lease must prevail, no matter how much more convenient the management company’s arrangements might be. It is most important, therefore, to ensure that the management company fully understands the terms of the lease and makes no irreversible decision that might be inconsistent with the lease; this may lead to loss to the company or action against it or against individual directors. Those leaseholders in a position to make decisions for the company must appreciate these restrictions, both in their fiduciary duty to the company as directors, and to the individual leaseholders as the landlord.
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o matter who manages the building, there are cer- tain tasks to be carried out; there is little variation in these whether the building is a house converted into a few flats or a substantial purpose-built block or estate.
Careful forward planning is necessary in terms of major works of
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