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Insurance Technology


what’s happenIng In the leasehold sector Insurance


AgreementreAched onfloodinsurAnce


Aftermonthsoftalks,on29June thegovernmentannounced it has reachedanagreement with theAssociation of British Insurers (ABI)toensurethat homeowners will continue to be offered insurancecover,whether or nottheyare in an area that is susceptible to flooding. Anot-for-profit fund– to be


knownasFloodRe-willbebuilt upfroma levy charged to insurers to coverthe cost of insuringhomes that are at risk.According to the


DIspuTes


first-tier tribunAl rePlAceslVt


From1July, theLeasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) ceased to existand wasreplacedbythe newFirst-TierTribunalProperty Chamber. The newchamber is expectedtohandlearound12,000 cases a year. It will deal with a wide rangeofresidential leasehold property disputes in the same wayand viathe sametribunal networkasthe oldLVT. TheFTT is beingheaded


up by thenew chamber president,SiobhanMcGrath, whoisworking alongsidetwo principaljudgesand 19 salaried judges. According to the Court Tribunal


Servicethe aim of thechanges is to provide asingleforum for settling disputes using a simplifiedset of procedural rules in an ‘accessible and user-friendly environment’. JonathanSmithers, chairman


of the LawSociety’s conveyancing andlandlaw committee, commented in the LawSociety Gazette that he is “broadly supportive of anything that willmake the process easier to navigate forbothsolicitorsand clients.’ Turn to pages 52-53 of this


issue for our easy guide to the newtribunal,what thechanges mean andhow they will affect leaseholders.


Flat Living Issue 15


ABI, this equates to a levy of £10.50 onannualhouseholdpremiums. Theaimis for FloodReto beup andrunningby summer 2015. In themeantimethe current arrangementswill remain in place. Underthe newplans,the


floodingelement of household insurance premiumswill be capped at £210 ayearfor those living in homesincouncil tax bandsAand B. This capwillrise forbiggerhomes to £540 ayearfor homesinbandG.Homes in band


H, and homes built after January 2009,willnot have acap. Commenting on thenew


arrangements,ABI Director GeneralOttoThoresensaid: “Flood Rewouldbeamajor undertakingforUKinsurers and... reflectsthe industry’s desire to coverflood risk at an affordable priceinthe face of the increasing flood threat in theUK. Thehardworknowbegins for both sidesifweare tomake this vision a reality”.


evenTs


ArmA conference isAsell-out


Places atARMA’s 18th conference to be held inWestminsteron10 Octoberonthe theme‘Raising thebar’, arenowsold out. Theconferenceisnowfirmly established as thebiggest event in theresidential leasehold calendar andawiderange of speakers hasbeenconfirmed includingARMA’sindependent regulatorKeith Hill,Sharon Crosslandfrom Leasehold Life,HMLShaw’sMichael Lee andMalcolmHyde fromthe Chartered InstituteofLoss Adjustors. Topics to be covered by someof theleaseholdsector’s


leading experts will include: nARMA-Q accreditation – how


will it work? nCurrent caselaw nManaging with ‘Phillips v


Francis’ nUnderstanding the


importance of reserve funds nThe role of the loss adjustor nDealingwithdifficult


behaviour nCommunicatingwith


leaseholders nTechnical issues – keeping


up-to-date Flat Living will be attending


newbuIlD fizzylivingnowinPoplar


Fizzyliving,thecommercialsubsidiaryofThamesvalleyHousingassociation, hasacquireditsthirdsite,purchasing45unitsfrombellwayHomeswithina singlebuildingatthenewFestivalQuarterdevelopmentinlondon’spoplar. Themarketvalueofthebuildingisbelievedtobearound£14.5million. OncetheschemeiscompletedthisDecember,Fizzylivingwillbeofferinga


rangeofone,two,andthreebedroomflats,withrentsstartingat£1,300pcm foraonebedflat,and£1,733pcmforthreebedrooms.On-sitefacilitieswill includeagym,concierge,undergroundparkingandlandscapedgardens. westfieldshoppingcentre,theO2,andexcelexhibitioncentreareallwithin easyreachbypublictransport,withtwoDlrstopslessthan5minutesaway. HarryDownes,Fizzyliving’smanagingdirector,said:“aswithallFizzyflats,


therewillbea24-7on-sitemanagementservice,whichwillensuretenants’ needsaremetandtheapartmentsarerunefficiently.weareexpectingthese apartmentstobesnappedupveryquicklybyprofessionalswhoworkin canarywharf.” Fizzylivingaimstobuildaportfolioinexcessof1,000apartmentsavailable


forprivaterenttargetedatyoungprofessionalsinlondonandthesoutheast. Inwhatitdescribesas“apioneeringlarge-scalerentalinitiative”,Fizzyliving willgenerateanincometoinvestinsocialhousingaswellasprovidingmuch neededqualityhomesintheprivaterentalsector.


theconferencetogetherwith otherbusinessesthatsupply services to those living in and managing leasehold blocks.


cOrrecTIOn londonProperty


manager2009 in thelast issueof Flat Living(issue14)wewrongly quotedmaxinefothergill as winnerof the2009london PropertymanageroftheYear Award in thearticleonp59 (It’sadirty job...). ithasbeen brought to our attentionthat thewinner of theAward in 2009wasnoellamorton,who isasenior blockmanager with Allsopresidential investment management ltdandmaxine wasthewinnerin2010.our apologies tobothaward- winningpropertymanagers.


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