In quick succession two codes of practice in respect of service charges for residential leasehold property have been granted approval by the Secretary of State.
Readers may recall that under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 the Secretary of State had powers to approve certain codes of practice. He had previously approved codes produced by Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Both of these codes have now been updated and as from the 1st June 2016 there is a new code.
The RICS code is the best known and is now in its third edition and here is a link to the statutory instrument granting approval of the code.
If you are involved in the management of long residential leasehold property then you ought to be familiarising yourself with the Codes. Both Codes are considered best practice and any court or tribunal adjudicating on long residential leasehold will have regard to the Code in determining the issues.
As with previous editions the Codes are written in clear easily understood terms. The ARHM is aimed at those managing properties in the retirement sector and for all other long leasehold property the RICS code would be relevant.
