Promoting and enhancing best practice and technical expertise

Service Charge Summit 2018 - The Service Charge Code Bites Back!

The Service Charge Code of Practice is to be given teeth and become a RICS Professional Statement

In recognition of the demand in the market for high standards in the management and administration of service charges, the RICS will publish the Code as a Professional Statement. This will require a mandatory level of compliance for property professionals with implications for both landlord and tenant representatives. This your chance to hear from speakers who have been directly involved in developing and defining industry best standards in the management of service charges.

Start Date Venue Price  
17 January 2018 Squire Patton Boggs, London    

Note: All prices are to be paid in GBP and are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate

Event duration: Day Event (5.15 hours CPD) (Lunch Included).
Registration from: 9.30. Event starts at: 10.00. Event finishes at: 16.15.

CPT would like to thank Squire Patton Boggs for the use of their facilities.

Download and print your full course brochure here not available

There is a new Service Charge code on the way. Property managers and agents need to prepare now, because it seeks to impose mandatory behaviours. This summit is an opportunity to discover what changes are planned, comment upon the changes with key members of the service charge working group, and provide an insight on what changes are required to your systems.

The event will answer:

  • Has the 3rd edition of the code succeeded to transform the relationship between landlords and tenants; and has it facilitated a new openness and transparency?
  • Do customer satisfaction surveys reflect improvements?
  • And what of mixed use properties, have they benefited from the new Mixed Use guidance Note?

There still remains a basic misunderstanding of service charges, landlords cannot reclaim all their costs and these impact on the cost of the investment. Enlightened agents factor in the leakage to the rent charged, many fail to do so! This leads to a desire by Landlords to not give anything else away, which creates friction, especially if the service charge is used to catch all else!

Many traditional tenants, on established estates, are keen to restrict increases in service charge costs and frequently do not want to be charged for new services such as marketing, toilets, children's play and nursery facilities and food and beverage outlets that create longer opening hours. These services are usually demanded by new tenants.

If you are a landlord or tenant surveyor, a property manager, accountant or lawyer, this day is an established must attend annual event.

Speakers

Programme

Review of the Service Charge Code, RICS Guidance and Information papers
  • Where is the market need
  • Where is the code going for the 4th edition
  • Key features of the 4th edition
  • Addressing and eliminating those concerns

Dispute Resolution and Case Law
  • With the lease silent on resolving disputes, are the Courts the right place to resolve disputes?
  • What are the courts doing with Service Charges?
  • The demand and expectation by the Courts to use ADR
  • Use the Courts, or an independent expert for rulings?
  • Have the ADR provisions from the 2011 Code worked?
  • Making effective use of Calderbanks to minimise, or avoid costs
  • Legal round up

Practical Dispute Resolution
  • Where disputes arise
  • Typical causes of disputes
  • Resolution techniques
Feedback on the key features of the 4th edition of the Service Charge Code

Q&A discussion on areas of audience focus

Market Context
  • What external factors influence service charge costs?
  • The impact of ever increasing food & beverage and leisure within retail sites.
  • The value of great customer service.
  • How relevant are sustainability and well-being?
  • Marketing costs, who pays for what in a digital age?
  • Is the Code keeping up with the pace of change in our industry?
The Conundrum of Mixed use
  • The new Mixed Use Guidance Note
  • What has it sought to resolve and has it?
  • Practical and operational issues of mixed use
  • S20
  • How to deal with changes in respect of apportion costs
  • Statutory Trusts to deal with sinking funds