1. ARMA Q will be agreed with all stakeholders, finalised and be ready for lift off before the year end. ARMA membership will continue to increase as non-members take up the opportunity for a genuine arms length regulatory regime. It will become difficult to justify not signing up as membership races past 300 companies.
2. If you can't sell 'em, rent 'em! The private rented sector (PRS) has really started to take off (again) and genuine private sector 'build to rent' properties are actually in development. This must present an opportunity for those managing agents who have added asset management and portfolio management to their existing skills.
3. Dealing with the differing needs of Landlords (or buy to let investors) and their sub-tenants as well as leasehold owners living on site will continue to be a challenge for every managing agent. It is difficult not to have sympathy for owners living on schemes that are increasingly let to tenants with little (or less) interest in maintaining the quality of common areas. Interests are not aligned which always causes dispute.
4. Big regeneration schemes will start to go live, promising a mix of developer, investor and social interests and a mix of tenures. Interesting approaches to management will be flushed out as requirements for Community Interest Statements meet the need for commercial returns. As with large mixed use schemes, quality standardised management plans from the outset will be key to success.
5. I think we will see an even bigger push towards energy saving strategies this year, including the introduction of phased switch over to LED lighting which is fast becoming the quickest way to find real mid term cost savings as well as delivering reduced carbon footprint - win, win then.
6. Gala Unity v Ariadne Road RTM - this Lands tribunal case has an important impact on RTM of single blocks or parts of an estate. It is suggested that the parties will come to some informal 'arrangement' over those areas of management no longer covered by the leases because of grey areas arising when one part of a scheme opts out. I think this will have some serious implications for RTM's, Landlords and their agents. Looking forward to the first test of reasonableness under such circumstances at LVT.
7. Like the one above, a number of cases in the courts currently and some that will arrive at appeal this year seem likely to turn received wisdom on it's head in relation to consultation, interpretation of leases and what is recoverable as a service charge - there appears to be an almost concerted effort to shake up the leasehold sector - but at the moment it looks like it will not be for the better, simply adding more confusion and opacity. There will be some lawyers winning whatever. I will be writing in detail about this later in the year.
8. Is this to be the year of office to residential conversions? Will it lead to a new revitalisation of our city centres, some of which have been at a standstill since 2008? There is evidence of planning applications rising for this newly encouraged conversion opportunity. I suspect that these conversions are not cheap and, as ever, banks and liquidity will be key.
9. I anticipate more partnership and collaboration amongst agents, as specialities and regional strengths make working together more likely to 'delight' clients than struggling to do it alone. This opportunity seems to have been taken in many other industries in recent times and I think it will work well in property management.
I round up by stating that the coming year will not be easy for agents, or their clients, or their customers. With no sign of relief from the relentlessly difficult economic climate, agents have to work harder and harder to demonstrate the real value of their services, and leaseholders, understandably, want to extract as much value for the least outlay. I think great new approaches, innovations and pioneering models should and must arise from this scenario - I will go so far as to call it an opportunity. Fingers crossed I will be reporting on one of these later in the year. Watch this space!
I wrote this just before the Phillips v Francis (No. 2) [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch)was splashed across the internet and the focus of agent's urgent meetings across the country. Strange times indeed. I will be posting a blog shortly. In the meanwhile fingers crossed, the implications will not be as destructive and costly as they at first appear!
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My goodness! It's all coming true...
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