ARMA ASK THE PROFESSIONALS ARMA SURGERY


BRuceMauNdeR TayloR, a chartered surveyor and member ofARMA’s Council provides answers to readers’ questions


Technical issues


QUESTIONWehave anRTMcompanywhich has recently taken over themanagement of our 10-year old block of flats. It has a lotofmechanical equipment to service. The instructionmanuals are impossible to understand.Not one ounce of common sense hasbeenusedtoprovide clear, concise andunderstandable everyday language forus, the lessees, evenifthe maintenanceengineers understand allthe technicaljargon.Isthereafirmwhichwe caninstructtovisit ourproperty andwrite out someeasyreferences to help uswhen wewant tomakesmalladjustments, or turn it off in anemergency?


ANSWER Iinclude this letter forabit of light relief. Language is an art for communicating meaning in a waywhich is visible to the reader. Authorsofgobbledegook do not appreciateart.It’sverysad.However,be careful with theuse of that phrase ‘common sense’. You can findmany examples of law lordsusing phrasessuchas‘the natural meaning of words’, ‘common sense’and reciting dictionary definitions. One dictionary defines ‘common


Service charge arrears


QUESTIONourBoard of directors found thatwehad far toomany service charge arrearswhichwere notbeing properly chasedup.Paying contractors bills on timewas becomingaproblem, afewof the debtswereold andlarge butwhenwestarted recovery actions,wewere treated like wewereamaraudingbunch of highway robbers throwing vulnerable oldpeople out on the streets on christmas eve. What is the right policy?How muchtimeare theyentitledto before they have to pay?


ANSWERIrememberonceasking adrivinginstructor howmany mphoverthe 30mphlimit I wasallowed to drivebeforeI mightget caught andfined. He looked atmewithamused astonishment. 30mph is the limit, he replied, stressingthe word limit.Wheneachofyour lessees signed their contract to buy the flat, they accepted a duty to pay the service charges on aparticularday,ordays, each year,providing they have beenproperly demanded in accordance with thelease and thelaw.Possibly no-one has


explained that to them. Whenyou signeduptobea


Director of themanagement company, you undertook a statutory responsibility to act in the best interests of the company. Possibly no-one explained that to you. It is part of that responsibility tomake sure that the company remains solvent and can pay its bills. You have to demand theservice charge on time, in the correctmanner, andtakeactionwhensomebody does notpay.The leasewilltell you someof the actions you can take,howquicklyand atwhose


cost. It is unfair to thosewho pay on timethat they are, effectively, financing thosewho do notpay on time.Ifaparticularlesseehas astrongcasetorequest leniency (recentlossofjob,recentlossof incomedue to ill health, etc), youmay be persuaded to cometo an agreementofdeferredterms providingtheycan offer youan acceptable plan tomake partial paymentnowandfullpayment within areasonabletime: it’s called mitigating circumstances. But, overall, thecompany has to be able to pay for the cost of the services.●


The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA)is theleadingtradebody for firms thatmanageprivateresidential leaseholdblocks of flats inEngland&Wales.ARMApromotes highstandardsof leaseholdmanagement by providingadvice, trainingandguidance to itsmember firms ofmanagingagents.ARMAalsoproducesguidancematerials for leaseholdersandResidentsManagementCompanies.Withmorethan300firms in membership,ARMAalsocampaigns forimprovements in thelegislationgoverningtheleaseholdsector. FindARMAatwww.arma.org.uk


50 Issue17 Flat Living


It is best to leave complex equipment to the experts


sense’ as ‘that sensewhichiscommontomost people’. A cynic once observed that that is how democraciesget theleaders they deserve! Another dictionary defines ‘common sense’as


‘sound judgement’. Alaw lord will also tell you that asound judgmentarisesonlyafter all therelevantfacts have beenconsideredand argument basedonreasondelivered both for and against. In the absence of that process, the judgment cannot be considered ‘sound’. Tomost people, common senseismoreofan intuitive judgement based on their knowledge andexperience(youwillfind that phrase in a number of old LVT decisions). A cynic once called it jumpingtoaconclusion; oftenright, sometimes spectacularly wrong.


ButIdigress.Letmereturn to theessential


thrust of the letter.One of the supremetests of alanguageartististocreateaninstruction manual, themeanings ofwhich are visible to the trained engineer, but invisible to the DIY resident lessee.The reason forthisisthatthe manufacturer,who takesgreat prideinthe successful operation of the equipment he has created, cantrust thetrained engineer tomake thesmall adjustments occasionally required, withoutupsetting thewhole balanceand rhythmof his beautiful beast,whereas the DIY resident lessee canbeguaranteed,moreorless, to causemultipleailments andareduced life spantothisalien beingwhich inhabits part of his building. That’s just plain common sense.●


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