What is Block Management? 

Leasehold Management, Property Management, Estate Management or as its most commonly known as ‘Block Management’, is the managing of all the shared or communal parts of residential buildings/managed land. Typically, this will involve the internal and external common parts of a block of flats, but it could also involve pathways, drainage, boundary fencing, or mechanical assets such as electric gates, sewage pumps or EV chargers.

As well as maintaining the communal structures and shared spaces, it also involves dealing with insurance, accounts and legal responsibilities. This includes service charge collection, ground rent collection, arranging the insurance on behalf of the client and organising communal maintenance.

Another significant area of block management is preparing budgets whilst ensuring that leaseholders receive value for money with the service charges which have been put in place.

What does a block manager deal with?

• Arrange repairs or maintenance 
• Arrange service contracts, e.g. lifts, sewage pumps, electric gates.
• Arrange routine reports/tests, e.g. PAT tests, EICRs, legionella assessments, Health & Safety and Fire Risk assessments, Reinstatement Cost Assessments
• Encourage clients to remediate all highlighted items to ensure minimisation of risk and to ensure the building is in good order.
• Arranging any relevant insurances, e.g. Buildings, Directors & Officers, Engineering, or Property Owner Liability.
• Administer insurance claims where a communal part (e.g. the roof) has been at fault.
• Arrange cleaning, window cleaning, gardening etc. to maintain the communal gardens and/or estate areas.
• Annual site inspections to check the condition of the development.
• Arrange statutory Section 20 consultation notices where required for Major Works, and where the client has consented to pay our Section 20 fees.
• Arrange contractors to paint and decorate the communal areas, whether internal or external. If necessary, arrange a Chartered Building Surveyor to design a Schedule of Works and act as a Contracts Administrator for the project.
• Collection of service charge payments.
• Process payment of supplier invoices.
• Draft budgets for clients to approve 
• Enforce the lease covenants.
• Give an interpretation of the lease covenants/advice to individual lessees or homeowners, with the caveat that our advice does not constitute independent legal advice.
• Conduct AGMs and/or Director’s meetings, then type up the draft minutes and send to the client for approval. 
• Where a lessee/homeowner is selling, check LPE1s and FME1s for onward transmission to solicitors. Deal with any solicitor questions arising.

A Block Management company will be well versed in tenant law, property legislation and leasehold matters. They will assess the construction of your building, to ensure the building is in a fit state and complies with health and safety regulations.  They need to guarantee the site is always compliant with current UK laws. They will need a copy of the head lease, so the block manager is fully aware of the terms for each leaseholder. 

They will usually deal directly with the appointment Directors of the development acting in an advisory capacity.  
If you are looking to appoint a Block Management company, our advice would be to engage with a firm who is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), has Professional Indemnity Insurance and who holds your finances in a separate client account.  

We tick all those boxes.  So, if you need any help or advice we would be delighted to assist. Contact us today.