The lease is the key to nearly all property management matters so it was perhaps no surprise to see such a strong turn-out for the Brady Solicitors ‘How to Read a Lease’ workshops at the IRPM Regionals in Cambridge and Manchester.
Property managers, service charge accountants and housing associations joined the three Brady Solicitors presenters for intensive but highly practical sessions that left the attendees with a clear understanding of the main sections within a lease and – importantly – how to apply it in their day-to-day property management challenges.
Colin Hussey, Business Development Director at Brady Solicitors commented:
“We were approached by the Institute of Residential Property Management to run a training session at their popular Regional events. We were keen to keep it practical and relevant to property managers at all levels and so it made sense to create a bespoke session focusing on residential leases.
“The majority of property management disputes that we tackle at Brady Solicitors have their origins in how the lease terms have been applied (or not applied!), so we were pretty sure that this would be a topic with resonance across the industry.”
Understanding the residential lease
Running in the morning of the two IRPM Regionals, the sessions covered an overview of the main sections of a residential lease and explained the key clauses and common terms.
The delegates then moved into the practical phase, where they worked in groups to review specific scenarios on a fictional estate.
They were tasked with identifying any problems with how the service charge was being demanded, together with any other issues that they would need to consider if they were to take over the management of this fictional block.
The sessions were written by Caroline Lee, Client Relationship Manager, and Carmela Inguanta, Head of Litigation at Brady Solicitors.
Commenting on the workshops, Caroline said:
“We were really impressed with delegates’ general level of knowledge of leasehold law and their desire to learn more and develop their understanding.
“During the discussions it was apparent though that many attendees had internal procedures and processes that had evolved without much regard to the lease and, where new blocks had been taken on, that there was rarely a thorough review of the lease to make sure service charges were being demanded correctly.
“By the end of the workshop it was great to see delegates being able to confidently read and interpret the lease, with a view to sense-checking their processes when they returned to the office.”
Find out more
The How to Read a Lease workshops were developed as a bespoke course for the IRPM. For a lease review or practical help with ensuring your service charge procedures are in line with the provisions of the lease, please do get in touch.
You can contact Brady Solicitors on 0115 985 3450 or click here to contact us.
