Property managers are often asked why communal areas have not been redecorated, why carpets have not yet been replaced, or why improvements such as upgraded LED lighting have not been undertaken.
These are entirely understandable questions.
Everyone wants to live in a development that is attractive, well maintained and somewhere residents can feel proud to call home. As managing agents, we continually work towards that goal, ensuring developments are maintained and managed in accordance with the terms of their leases and the responsibilities placed upon the management company.
However, the priorities involved in managing residential buildings have changed significantly in recent years.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the subsequent changes to fire and building safety legislation, considerably greater emphasis has rightly been placed on ensuring residential buildings are safe and that appropriate fire safety measures are identified, maintained and, where necessary, improved.
Why are managing agents prioritising fire safety works?
Managing a residential development inevitably involves balancing different priorities.
There may be requests for new carpets, freshly decorated communal hallways, upgraded lighting, improvements to external areas and numerous other projects that could enhance the appearance of a development.
At the same time, there may be essential fire and building safety works that need to be addressed.
Where safety-related works are required, difficult decisions sometimes have to be made about where available service charge funds should be directed.
Although replacing a tired carpet or redecorating a communal hallway provides an immediate and highly visible improvement for residents, essential fire safety measures must take priority where they are required.
Safety before aesthetics
This doesn’t mean that the appearance of a development is unimportant.
Far from it.
The objective should always be to create and maintain developments that are safe, attractive and well managed.
However, when available budgets mean that choices have to be made between aesthetic improvements and essential safety works, our view is very simple:
Safety must come first.
A newly decorated communal hallway may improve the appearance of a building, but the safety of the people living behind those front doors is ultimately more important.
Why has fire safety become such an important part of leasehold property management?
The regulatory environment surrounding residential fire and building safety has changed significantly in the years following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
This has placed increased focus on how residential buildings are managed, how risks are identified and how appropriate safety measures are implemented and maintained.
For management companies and managing agents, however, we believe the issue goes beyond simply complying with legislation.
There is also a fundamental moral responsibility to ensure that the safety of residents and their homes comes first.
When fire safety works are identified as necessary, they cannot simply be put to one side because there are other, more visually appealing improvements that residents would understandably like to see undertaken.
What does this mean for leaseholders?
One of the challenges with property management is that some of the most important expenditure may also be the least noticeable.
Residents will immediately notice a newly decorated entrance hall, new carpet or improved lighting.
Fire safety expenditure, by comparison, may relate to measures that receive considerably less day-to-day attention.
This can understandably lead to questions about why money is being spent in one area when residents would perhaps prefer to see improvements elsewhere.
Good property management therefore isn’t simply about arranging the necessary work. It is also about explaining why that work is necessary and communicating priorities clearly to leaseholders.
Residents should be able to understand what is being undertaken, why it is required and why certain works may have to take priority over others.
Balancing service charges and improvements
Service charge budgets are not unlimited.
Management companies and managing agents therefore have to consider how available funds can be used responsibly, while taking account of the requirements of the lease and applicable legal obligations.
This can sometimes mean delaying desirable improvements while essential works are addressed.
That does not mean those improvements have been forgotten.
A responsible approach to property management should involve planning both for the immediate safety requirements of a building and its longer-term condition and appearance.
Where budgets permit, programmes of redecoration, carpet replacement, lighting upgrades and other improvements can continue alongside necessary safety expenditure.
Where they cannot, priorities have to be established.
Our approach to residential property management
We believe successful block management requires much more than simply maintaining the appearance of a development.
It requires balancing:
- the safety of residents
- legislative and regulatory requirements
- the obligations contained within the lease
- responsible management of service charge expenditure
- planned and preventative maintenance
- the condition of communal areas
- longer-term investment in the development
- communication with leaseholders and residents
There will inevitably be occasions when residents would prefer to see money spent on something different.
Our responsibility is to consider the development as a whole and help ensure that expenditure is appropriately prioritised.
A development should ultimately be somewhere that residents can be proud to live, but above everything else, it must be somewhere they can live safely.
If you have a question about fire safety works or the service charge budget for your building, call us on 0116 270 3705 or email enquiries@butlinps.co.uk.
Property managers are often asked why communal areas have not been redecorated, why carpets have not yet been replaced, or why improvements such as upgraded LED lighting have not been undertaken.
These are entirely understandable questions.
Everyone wants to live in a development that is attractive, well maintained and somewhere residents can feel proud to call home. As managing agents, we continually work towards that goal, ensuring developments are maintained and managed in accordance with the terms of their leases and the responsibilities placed upon the management company.
However, the priorities involved in managing residential buildings have changed significantly in recent years.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the subsequent changes to fire and building safety legislation, considerably greater emphasis has rightly been placed on ensuring residential buildings are safe and that appropriate fire safety measures are identified, maintained and, where necessary, improved.
Why are managing agents prioritising fire safety works?
Managing a residential development inevitably involves balancing different priorities.
There may be requests for new carpets, freshly decorated communal hallways, upgraded lighting, improvements to external areas and numerous other projects that could enhance the appearance of a development.
At the same time, there may be essential fire and building safety works that need to be addressed.
Where safety-related works are required, difficult decisions sometimes have to be made about where available service charge funds should be directed.
Although replacing a tired carpet or redecorating a communal hallway provides an immediate and highly visible improvement for residents, essential fire safety measures must take priority where they are required.
Safety before aesthetics
This doesn’t mean that the appearance of a development is unimportant.
Far from it.
The objective should always be to create and maintain developments that are safe, attractive and well managed.
However, when available budgets mean that choices have to be made between aesthetic improvements and essential safety works, our view is very simple:
Safety must come first.
A newly decorated communal hallway may improve the appearance of a building, but the safety of the people living behind those front doors is ultimately more important.
Why has fire safety become such an important part of leasehold property management?
The regulatory environment surrounding residential fire and building safety has changed significantly in the years following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
This has placed increased focus on how residential buildings are managed, how risks are identified and how appropriate safety measures are implemented and maintained.
For management companies and managing agents, however, we believe the issue goes beyond simply complying with legislation.
There is also a fundamental moral responsibility to ensure that the safety of residents and their homes comes first.
When fire safety works are identified as necessary, they cannot simply be put to one side because there are other, more visually appealing improvements that residents would understandably like to see undertaken.
What does this mean for leaseholders?
One of the challenges with property management is that some of the most important expenditure may also be the least noticeable.
Residents will immediately notice a newly decorated entrance hall, new carpet or improved lighting.
Fire safety expenditure, by comparison, may relate to measures that receive considerably less day-to-day attention.
This can understandably lead to questions about why money is being spent in one area when residents would perhaps prefer to see improvements elsewhere.
Good property management therefore isn’t simply about arranging the necessary work. It is also about explaining why that work is necessary and communicating priorities clearly to leaseholders.
Residents should be able to understand what is being undertaken, why it is required and why certain works may have to take priority over others.
Balancing service charges and improvements
Service charge budgets are not unlimited.
Management companies and managing agents therefore have to consider how available funds can be used responsibly, while taking account of the requirements of the lease and applicable legal obligations.
This can sometimes mean delaying desirable improvements while essential works are addressed.
That does not mean those improvements have been forgotten.
A responsible approach to property management should involve planning both for the immediate safety requirements of a building and its longer-term condition and appearance.
Where budgets permit, programmes of redecoration, carpet replacement, lighting upgrades and other improvements can continue alongside necessary safety expenditure.
Where they cannot, priorities have to be established.
Our approach to residential property management
We believe successful block management requires much more than simply maintaining the appearance of a development.
It requires balancing:
- the safety of residents
- legislative and regulatory requirements
- the obligations contained within the lease
- responsible management of service charge expenditure
- planned and preventative maintenance
- the condition of communal areas
- longer-term investment in the development
- communication with leaseholders and residents
There will inevitably be occasions when residents would prefer to see money spent on something different.
Our responsibility is to consider the development as a whole and help ensure that expenditure is appropriately prioritised.
A development should ultimately be somewhere that residents can be proud to live, but above everything else, it must be somewhere they can live safely.
If you have a question about fire safety works or the service charge budget for your building, call us on 0116 270 3705 or email enquiries@butlinps.co.uk.
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