Collinson Hall and our role as Block Management agents
The role of the block management agent is to act on behalf of a Client in looking after their property. We do not own any of the properties that we look after.
The client in this situation can vary. For instance it could be a Landlord / Freeholder, Resident Management Company (RMC), a company set up to deliver the services on behalf of the landlord under the terms of the lease or a Right To Manage (RTM), the RTM was introduced through legislation giving leaseholders the statutory right to take over the management of their property from the landlord by setting up a special company – a Right To Manage company.
As you can see, the relationship can vary from block to block. On top of this the flat may be leased on a tenancy agreement so the occupier may not be the long-leasehold owner. However, it is the long-leasehold owner who would typically pay the service charge.
In each instance the managing agent will need to understand the terms of the lease for the block. They are not all the same.
In addition to our contractual relationship with “The Client” we can and will liaise with individual long-leasehold owners should the need arise. This can sometimes get confusing as ultimately, we take instruction from The Client, but it is the long-leasehold owner who is directly affected and is often the person most motivated to resolve an issue. In these circumstances we will clarify what we can and can't do and when we will need to refer the matter to “The Client” for instruction.
When issues arise the Managing Agents role is to liaise between the various parties, and this can become very complex where multiple people/businesses are involved. If there are tenants, it will also involve them and probably their managing agent.
Surveyors or specialist companies may be engaged to identify the issues, multiple contractors to provide competitive quotes or the initial contractor if looking at a claim for work that has previously been done. In some instances, insurance companies and their claims assessors too. Collinson Hall will do our very best to coordinate the responses where possible but where third parties are involved, we are dependent on them to be as responsive.
We do understand that as the primary contact point, we will sometimes find ourselves working in a difficult position where we are waiting on a response or decision from a client or contractor. Please be assured that we will always do our best to move things along as fast as we can but sometimes it is just not possible. Whilst frustrating we would ask you to be understanding of our position and be assured in the knowledge that we will be doing all that we can to help.
