Member Article

The pitfalls of mixed-use estates

Common pitfalls and the legal implications of leasehold and mixed-use estate management are being discussed at a major housing conference in Torquay this week.

A team of specialist social housing lawyers from Clarke Willmott LLP are attending the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) South West Conference at the Riviera International Centre, with Jonathan Hulley, Partner and Head of Housing Management, leading a workshop on how to future-proof organisations in terms of leasehold management.

Guests will hear top tips and legal advice on the subject, which Jonathan says is vital to ensure public landlords are able to collect service charges and receive an income.

Jonathan said: “There is a need, in the brave world of mixed tenure estates, for housing officers and managers to ensure good mixed use estate management.

“There are a number of common pitfalls public landlords struggle with when managing mixed use estates including not adequately managing the often competing expectations of the different residents, particularly the service and related cost expectations of Shared Owners‎.

“Like with tenancy agreements, lease and shared ownership agreement are ultimately contracts between two parties. However, while a tenancy will refer to obligations, a lease refers to covenants. Also the rules in respect of terminating leases are a little different to tenancy possession proceedings. As more public landlords build more shared ownership homes, which will be occupied by residents who will live side by side with tenants, so it will become ever more important for housing officers and managers to be able to navigate their way around leases and shared ownership agreement, so as to ensure a well-managed estate.

“Failure to do so will impact on service charge collection and so income for the public landlord.”

Jonathan Hulley is ranked nationally for his housing management expertise. Clarke Willmott is a national law firm with one of the largest national Social Housing teams in the UK delivering services across England and Wales.

The CIH South West Conference is taking place 20-21 April, attracting over 650 attendees. High profile speakers and experts across both days will tackle a wide range of issues at the forefront of the sectors agenda.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clarke Willmott .