Any building, commercial or residential, that shares facilities and rights between multiple tenants will invariably have a form of service charge in place which defines the responsibilities of both landlord and tenant. The management of service charge is becoming ever more complicated by evolving legislation that places more and more emphasis and liability on property owners and company directors, stakeholders and shareholders of companies with a property responsibility, particularly in areas of statutory compliance and Health & Safety.
Fairhurst Estates has set out to position itself at the forefront of this complex area of service charge management to give our clients total peace of mind that their buildings are being well maintained in accordance with current legislative requirements and that their liabilities and responsibilities and best interests are being looked after.
All our managed properties enjoy the access to our comprehensive list of services spanning many disciplines and delivered through our experienced property managers and surveyors including;
- Accurate service charge, budgeting and expenditure control
- Reconciliation of end of year expenditure, preparation of audited reports and accounts
- Identifying and budgeting for planned preventative maintenance
- Competitive and regular retendering of maintenance and other contracts
- Advising on energy and utility costs and ensuring the most cost effective tariffs and energy providers are used
- Landlord and Tenant liaison and resolution of tenant queries and disputes
- In house Building Surveying advice for development of capital projects
- Legislative compliance relating to:
- Preparation and maintenance of asbestos register (where appropriate).
- Mandatory requirements for testing and inspection of electrical equipment.
- Health & Safety Risk Assessment reports and compliance.
- Organising Fire Safety Risk Assessments and compiling and monitoring action plans
- Compiling and maintaining asset registers for each managed property.
- Organising maintenance contracts for the servicing of plant and equipment installed.
- Accordance with legislation including lifts, boilers, air conditioning, fire alarms, emergency lighting, portable fire fighting equipment and security systems.
- Landlords Gas Safety Certificates.
- 24/7 Call out service and contact via our own helpdesk for reactive maintenance and emergencies using pre qualified and approved contractors through our state of the art Qube IT system.
The latest development cycle has seen an unprecedented number of multi-tenanted new buildings constructed, particularly in the residential flat and apartment sector, all of which have a requirement for the building fabric, structure, facilities and services to be managed and maintained. Often residents themselves become stakeholders, shareholders and directors of management companies that have an increasingly daunting set of responsibilities and duties. Legislation and responsibilities are different in relation to residential property and our service is tailored accordingly to suit the requirement of our residential clients.
Whilst there is much synergy between the commercial and residential service charge offering, additional key areas of residential management responsibility that we offer include:
Financial preparation of a reserve fund plan relating to cyclical maintenance, for example decoration, reserve tree protection funds, common parts refurbishments etc.
- Regular billing and collection of service charges including management fees.
- Preparation of notices for AGM’s and EGM’s and attendance at residents’ meetings if required.
- Arrears collection management.
- Advice on block insurance and public liability insurance.
- Soft” upkeep of communal areas and grounds maintenance to a high standard.
- 24/7 helpdesk for reactive maintenance and emergency repairs for all managed properties
At all times we seek to maintain a courteous, professional service to our lessees and tenants and ensure all are treated equally.
FEL’s commitment to client satisfaction and professional service is paramount and is enforced through our Chartered Surveyor status and our ISO 9001 Accreditation.
