Telling people the truth can sometimes hurt. I went around a property recently. It had been extended and had a loft conversion of sorts. Under modern building regulations staircases are suppose to have minimum headroom of 2 metres. (There are slight variations allowed.) The staircase to the loft only had 1.6m headroom. The loft room floor hadn’t been strengthened, there … Read More
EPC, Energy Performance Certificates, (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015
ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES (EPC) Both domestic and commercial buildings require Energy Performance Certificates when they are sold or let. The ratings on both types of certificate go from A (the highest) to G. (the lowest) Domestic energy performance certificates for existing dwellings are assessed using RdSAP. (Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure.). Domestic ratings run from 1 (G) the worst to … Read More
NEW LANDLORD REGULATIONS
Reproduced from information supplied by Open House Estate Agents Joanne Bradley Phone: 07742 370 828 joanne.bradley@localagent.co.uk NEW LANDLORD REGULAIONS New regulations requiring landlords to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their rental properties are expected to come into force, subject to approval, on 10 October 2015. Landlords will be required to install smoke alarms on every floor … Read More
Planning Permission not obtained.
The London Borough Ealing issued an enforcement notice against Dragan Milinkovic in 2011 because planning permission had not been obtained to convert a house he owned into three flats. The enforcement notice requiring him to stop using the building as flats. The council also maintained that the flats were substandard. When the enforcement notice was ignored, a letter of caution was issued by … Read More
BNI Bravo St Helens
Business Networking International BNI Bravo (St Helens) meet on Friday at: The Mansion House Victoria Park North Road St. Helens Merseyside WA10 2UE http://www.bni-europe.com/chapter.php?chapter=544 BRAVO are well on their way to having an annual “turnover” of £2 Million. To put it another way, each member of BRAVO sits in a seat worth £60,000.00 pounds Stirling. Being active … Read More
Party Wall Awards
Party Wall Work The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 introduced a procedure for resolving disputes between owners of neighbouring properties, arising as a result of one owner’s intention to carry out works which would affect the party wall, involve the construction of a party wall or boundary wall at (or adjacent to) the line of junction between the two … Read More
Japanese Knotweed
There have been cases where Japanese Knotweed come up inside houses and damaged them so badly that they are no longer saleable. The new Invasive Alien Species Regulation 2014 obliges land owners to manage invasive alien species such as Japanese Knotweed. Part 4 of the new Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has also introduced community protection notices, which … Read More
Badly flooded gardens
We have a client who has a badly flooded gardens. The gardens in question have been flooding for at least 12 years. The flooding is so bad that three quarters of the rear garden is flooded for at least four months of the year. Even in dry weather, the ground under foot is soft. Despite many letters to the Local … Read More