Emirates residential property drops service charges
A report from United Arab Emirates about residential landlord, Nakheel (Dubai World subsidiary) dropping service charges on its residential holdings at its Discovery Gardens development.
Residential service charge audit questions
Over the weekend we read an interesting article in The Times in which asks the question
There is no evidence that the annual service charges on our flat have been audited. What are our rights?
The answer, by expert Mark Loveday, states correctly that there are no legal requirements to have audits.
Most properly presented annual service charge accounts are signed by a managing agent or an accountant to certify their accuracy.
He makes passing reference to this becoming a legal requirement in future. Naturally, we think that audited accounts are the best possible security for all parties, landlord, tenant and managing agent.
When this does become law, the need for a common format for presentation of the annual service charge statement for residential properties will necessitate changes for many sites.
Residential landlords may get water bill liability
The Government has commissioned an independent review into charging and metering for water and sewerage services. This is being run by Defra and Chaired by Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission.
In a headline-grabbing reaction, the Property Week says that part of the proposals would leave landlords liable for unpaid water bills from departing tenants.
The review is still at the consultative stage and interested parties have until 28th August 2009 to respond to the interim report.
Westfield Shopping Centre reduces service charge 7%
It has been reported in Property Week and Retail Week that Westfield Shopping Centre has dropped its service charges for tenants.
The top weighted rate for 2009 of £12.98/sq ft – compared to the original budget projection of £13.94/sq ft that was given to retailers around Christmas 2008.
Driven by ‘unhappy retailers’ who campaigned for a reduction in overheads, it seems this has been achieved by a mixture of cost cutting and streamlining services.
