Appointment of the Managing Agent

In accordance with the terms of the lease the Block Landlord (G&O Real Estate Ltd) is required to ensure that the building, systems and services are appropriately managed and maintained.

To carry out these functions, the Block Landlord appointed Praxis Block Management Ltd as the Managing Agent with effect from 1 July 2024 to undertake the financial and day-to-day management of the building and the collection of service charges from leaseholders. Praxis Block Management have also taken over the collection of annual ground rents (except from Grey GR Sub-lessees) and hold and manage the Building Insurance Policy. Sub-lessees of apartments for which the primary lease is held by the Grey GR Limited Partnership have separate arrangements for the payment of service charges to Plymouth Block Management and ground rents to HomeGround Management Limited.

The Managing Agent, whilst accountable to Block Landlord, is also obliged to provide leaseholders (apartment owners) with certain financial information. Furthermore, the managing agent’s books of account, together with all invoices relating to the building must be open to inspection by the owners, if required, and in accordance with statutory requirements.

Are property managers regulated?

From 1 October 2014 in England anyone engaged in property management work became legally required to belong to a government approved redress scheme. This requirement means leaseholders and freeholders dealing with property managers will be able to complain to an independent body about the service they have received. Ultimately, the requirement for property managers to belong to a redress scheme helps weed out the minority of bad managers and helps drive up standards.

Praxis Block Management are members of the Property Redress Scheme (PRS), which exists to consider any complaints by a consumer, such as a Residential Management Company or an individual leaseholder. Individual leaseholders can complain about a managing agent although the PRS will look at who is giving instructions to the managing agent to decide how they may be able to help.

Further support for leaseholders is available from the Leaseholder Advisory Service who can provide initial advice and guidance on residential long leasehold (that is, a flat or house with a lease longer than 21 years) and park homes law. They also advise on fire safety to those leaseholders living in high-rise buildings. The advice they provide is outline, summary, legal advice enabling you to make an informed decision as to what appropriate action you may need to take next.

Managing a block of flats requires a professional approach and the time to do it. Today’s managing agents need to have a good knowledge of landlord and tenant law, building construction, health and safety regulations, basic accounting and a range of other skills.

Managing agents take instructions from the landlord not the individual leaseholders. But a good managing agent will always be aware of the requirements and wishes of the flat owners. From keeping the lift working to doing the accounting; maintaining the garden to decorating the hallway the managing agent plays an important part in your life as a leaseholder and the smooth running of your building.

Whoever appoints the managing agent, as a leaseholder you pay for their services through your service charges. So its in your interests to have a professional and experienced agent who does the job well.

What you should be able to expect from the Managing Agent

A good managing agent will be:

Knowledgeable

Have a full understanding of the structure and meaning of leases
Have thorough knowledge of relevant Landlord and Tenant legislation
Help you understand your rights and obligations

Professional

Committed to best practice
Committed to good customer service
Comply with relevant standards and codes of practice
Operate an independent complaints procedure
Be subject to external scrutiny

Transparent

Able to provide full accounting facilities for budgeting, service charge and year-end accounting and give you access to them
Able to support you and your fellow leaseholders in ensuring that service charge money is spent wisely
Open about connections with other service providers and about commissions

The Managing Agent’s responsibilities

In accordance with the lease, the Managing Agent’s main role and responsibilities are the security, support, maintenance and servicing of the common areas and structure of the Hebble Wharf building.

These services are managed remotely by Praxis Block Management, with support from local contractors and the Hebble Wharf Residents & Owners Association.

The Managing Agent is responsible for such matters as:

• Communal areas of the building

• Building access and security (including cctv systems)

• Building fire alarms

• External and internal lighting of communal areas

• Cold water supply and sewerage services

• Terrestrial and satellite media distribution services

• Fabric of the buildings including water leaks or flooding

• Refuse storage and recycling

• Provision of mailboxes (maintained at leaseholder’s expense)

• External window cleaning (except for apartments on 4th floor)

• Utility issues (including meter readings provided by the Association)

• Power failure and systems failures

• Car park

• Parking issues

• Unsociable behaviour

• Any financial queries

• Concerns over staffing

• Suspected lease breaches

• Emergency repairs

• Fob and radio transmitter unit reordering

• Budget and accounts requests

• Insurance claims

Complaints Procedure

In the event a complaint needs to be made and formally recorded, Praxis Block Management will follow a simple procedure to record, investigate and address the complaint in a professional and timely manner.

Click here to read Praxis Block Management’s complaints procedure or contact the company about an unresolved concern.