News and Articles

Enfranchisement Conference 2023

22/05/2023

Mari will be speaking at the annual MBL Seminars Enfranchisement Conference alongside barristers at Tanfield Chambers and fellow solicitors. Mari will be speaking on the topic of commonhold – the “need to know” for enfranchisement experts. Tickets can be booked here.

BDLS Residential Conveyancing lecture

04/05/2023

Matt Lewis spoke to conveyancing members of the Bournemouth & District Law Society today on the topic of lease extensions and enfranchisement. The topic included a look at common pitfalls for residential conveyancers and tips on how to avoid drafting errors. Details of future events can be found here.

Leasehold bill confirmed?

03/05/2023

Following a debate in the House of Lords yesterday, and much speculation surrounding the leasehold reforms, when questioned, it appears as if confirmation of a leasehold bill has been confirmed. No details as to what might be in the bill have been provided. The Hansard transcript can be found here.

Leasehold Birmingham 2023

26/04/2023

We are delighted to have been invited to speak at the Leasehold Birmingham 2023 conference on 14 September 2023. Our team will be speaking on the important topic of “commonhold versus leasehold” which led to lively debates at previous events. We look forward to meeting leaseholders and professionals in Birmingham! More information can be found here.

FCA issues final insurance review

23/04/2023

The FCA has been conducting an investigation into insurance remunerations in multi-occupancy buildings. Following previous updates, the FCA has now released their full review. This includes their final findings, together with proposed next steps. The full report can be found here.

BSA Regulator registrations commence

13/04/2023

The HSE, responsible for the Building Safety Regulator, opened up registrations yesterday for those required to be registered in line with requirements with the Building Safety Act 2022. This includes all high-rise residential buildings which are 18 metres or higher or at least 7 floors, with 2 or more residential units. The Act defines the requirements further. All those in scope for registration must do so by 01 October 2023.

MBL sessions confirmed!

06/03/2023

We continue to work with MBL Seminars to bring webinars to the industry on a variety of subject matter, including complex enfranchisement (estates and mixed-use), commonhold, right to manage, contentious enfranchisement and building safety for residential conveyancers. Please contact us for a full list of sessions and dates.

Bournemouth social

24/02/2023

Matthew Lewis was delighted to host the first leasehold reform social in Bournemouth for a cheese and wine evening. The event was very well attended by those in the profession, including lawyers, valuers, and surveyors. The event included a discussion on the various reform topics, which was, it is fair to say, lively! Following positive feedback, it is likely that Matt will host a further event in October 2023. For anyone interested in joining the next event in Bournemouth, please contact us.

Building safety update - round 2

17/02/2023

Our second building safety update this month. The Department of Levelling Up has released a series of guidance notes for residents living in higher-risk buildings. The first relates to information on the Building Safety Fund (see here). The second relates to information on fire safety and remediation of historic defects (see here). The last is a factsheet on the developer remediation contract (see here).

Property Litigation Lawyer of the Year Award 2023

16/02/2023

Congratulations to Mari for winning a “Property Litigation Lawyer of the Year” award for 2023. This prestigious award was presented following a peer-led voting system and a six-month process. The full article together with a list of other winners is available here.   

BDLS Lunch

08/02/2023

Matt Lewis was delighted to attend the Bournemouth District Law Society lunch earlier today. The lunch was well attended by local lawyers and it was great to catch up with contacts. Matt is a keen supporter of the BDLS and will be speaking to their residential conveyancing members on the “need to knows” of lease extensions and enfranchisement for sale and purchases on 04 May 2023. Tickets for the event can be booked here.

Building safety update

02/02/2023

This week has seen a flurry of activity on the ongoing building safety reforms. In addition to an announcement on 30 January 2023 from the Secretary of State that developers have six weeks to sign contracts to fix unsafe buildings (see here), two consultations have been released. The first relates to “service charge transparency requirements” (see here) and the second relates to “alterative cost recovery for remediation works” (see here). Both consultations close on 31 March 2023.

August office closure

30/01/2023

We will be closing our office for a week from 21 to 25 August to allow our team some time out before the Autumn. We will provide updated details on emergency contact details nearer the time. We thank you for your understanding.   

LMP Spring Conferences

23/01/2023

Leasehold Management Professionals, of which Matt Lewis is a director, have now released their dates for their Spring conferences. LMP has invited a range of high profile speakers to present on an interesting array of topics. The events will be taking place in Bristol, Brighton and Bournemouth throughout March. Tickets are available here.

December office closure

13/12/2022

CLE Limited will be closing their offices from noon on 23 December 2022 reopening on 03 January 2023. We thank all of our clients and contacts for your assistance throughout the last year. We look forward to working with you again next year!

Property Management Awards 2022

25/11/2022

Last night heralded the annual Property Management Awards held in central London. Matt Lewis was delighted to attend as a guest which was a glamorous, well-attended affair.

FPRA roundtable on leasehold reforms

24/11/2022

The Federation of Private Residents Association hosted their annual AGM yesterday. Matt Lewis, honorary consultant of FPRA, chaired a round table on the contentious topic of leasehold reforms. The discussion placed specific emphasis on the impact for resident associations. For information on FPRA, please see here.

Commonhold and Resident Management Companies

16/11/2022

Matt Lewis, our expert solicitor in Bournemouth, hosted an onlne session on the benefits of commonhold for members of the Federation of Private Residents' Associations today. The session took a look at the key differences between leasehold and commonhold, why commonhold has not worked so far and the proposed reforms. Matt also answered some tricky questions from participants, who were mainly leaseholders who had acquired either management or bought the freehold of thier buildings. Details of the Federation of Private Residents' Associations, of which Matt is an honorary consultant, can be found here.

RICS commonhold webinar

14/10/2022

Mari has been invited to speak to surveyors and valuers on behalf of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. The session will consider at commonhold: what is it, how has leasehold reform impacted the viability of commonhold and what to think about. The session is available to non-members of RICs. Tickets can be booked here.

Further enfranchisement webinars confirmed

12/10/2022

Following a successful session on 05 October, MBL Seminars Limited has invited Mari to speak on further subjects. This includes Enfranchisement on Estates and Mixed-Use Buildings, non-contentious enfranchisement, and right to manage. Mari will be joined by James Fieldsend from Tanfield Chambers for the contentious sessions and Matthew Lewis for the non-contentious sessions. The booking form can be found here.

Congratulations to ALEP!

07/10/2022

The CLE enfranchisement team was delighted to attend The Association of Enfranchisement Practitioners 15th anniversary gala dinner last night. The gala was held at Stationer’s Hall close to St Paul’s Cathedral in London and attended by many members of ALEP. As proud members of ALEP, the team congratulates them on hosting a wonderful evening.   

"Contentious enfranchisement" webinar

05/10/2022

Mari Knowles was joined by barrister James Fieldsend, of Tanfield Chambers, to host a 3 hour webinar for industry professionals on behalf of MBL Seminars Limited today. The webinar took an in depth look at the challenges faced by enfranchisement lawyers in the current landscape. It included a look at the implications of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 and the Building Safety Act 2022 on enfranchisement, together with complex valuation issues. The session will be rerun on 05 December 2022 and 01 February 2023. The booking form can be found here.

Leasehold Manchester 2022: "commonhold versus leasehold"

03/10/2022

Mari Knowles was joined by barrister Rebecca Cattermole, of Tanfield Chambers to host a debate on “commonhold versus leasehold” at News on the Block’s Annual property conference in Manchester. The session involved a healthy debate with managing agents and other professionals on which tenure is the better system for multi-unit buildings. Further information on the event can be found here.

LMP: November events

30/09/2022

Matt Lewis, founder and director of Leasehold Management Professionals has confirmed details of three new property management events. The events will be hosted in Bristol, Brighton and Bournemouth throughout November. The events are always very well attended and include high profile speakers. Whilst the conference topics are management focused, they are also a useful source of information for lawyers, surveyors, valuers and other professionals. Tickets can be found here.

FCA insurance report published

21/09/2022

Following the release of an interim report in June (see below), the FCA has now released their full report. The investigation looked at insurance products for multi-occupancy buildings, which led to the FCA making various findings in their final report. The full report can be found here. The Secretary of State of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities has formally responded to this report. The letter can be found here.