BREAKING PROPERTY NEWS – 15/03/2022
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
- Gove under pressure to provide more data around defective properties
- Excellent turn out for The Guild of Property Professionals awards
Gove under pressure to provide more data around defective properties
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, had hoped that the property developers would come forward with financial strategies to offset the problems around cladding, faulty construction and fire safety.
Now the construction industry has put the ball back in the government’s court, upping the ante by asking the government to provide more detailed information regarding the true extent and cost of any remedial work.
At present, the figure circulating to deal with problems on buildings above 11 metres in height is in excess of £4 billion, but there seems to be little detail as to how this figure has been calculated.
There have also been calls for all stakeholders to pay towards the costs of making properties fit for purpose, with Clive Betts, who chairs the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee saying: “The government should be looking beyond developers and manufacturers to contribute to the costs of fixing the building safety crisis.”
Betts continued: “We recommend the government identify all relevant parties who played a role in this crisis, such as product suppliers, installers, contractors and subcontractors, and legally require them to pay towards fixing individual faults and ensure that they also contribute to collective funding for building safety remediation.”
It’s not just outside pressure, Gove is being put under the spotlight internally, too. On the March 11th a government committee published the DLUHC Building Safety: Remediation and Funding report, which also questioned the fact that there seemed to be scant detail on the extent of the problem.
“It is completely unacceptable that, nearly five years after the Grenfell tragedy, the Government still does not seem to know how many buildings have unsafe cladding or other historic building safety defects,” stated the report.
“We commend the Secretary of State for finally seeking information from developers and manufacturers, and commend industry for now working at pace to provide this information. The Government must publish, within two months, all available data on the number of buildings of all heights with historic building safety defects—cladding and non-cladding—including data it has received from developers and manufacturers.”
Interestingly, in the same government report the following observation was made: “Taylor Wimpey pointed out that before 10 January, developers were the only sector that had been required to contribute to public funds for building safety. Developers have also voluntarily funded remediation works to the tune of £1 billion.”
Again, this makes the point that prior to Gove’s big idea to get new home developers to cover the deficit, there were already manoeuvres to help with the situation.
Another complication for Gove on the horizon is the reality that many developers who have built defective properties are actually based outside the UK, so even if compensation, fines or some other form of financial clawback is put in place, many buildings may not be covered.
Excellent turn out for The Guild of Property Professionals awards
The Guild of Property Professionals recently held its first in-person conference and awards ceremony since the pandemic. Over 400 people attended the conference, which was held at the QEII Centre in Westminster, London.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said: “It was great to be back together again and reflect on the past twelve months, looking at what has happened within the sector during 2021 and what we expect to happen moving forward into 2022. Throughout the day, we had an amazing line-up of industry professionals, speaking about a wide variety of topics such as the digitalisation of the sector and using digital marketing to elevate your business, winning instructions the green way and the trends and innovations we are seeing within the sales and lettings sectors.
“We also had the privilege of listening to talks from our two keynote speakers, Katie King, published Author and Management Consultant, renowned for digital transformation and AI, and professional adventurer and motivational speaker, Debra Searle MVO, MBE, who single-handedly rowed across the Atlantic.”
He adds that the conference and awards ceremony was also an opportunity for The Guild to recognise the hard work of its Members and what they have achieved over the course of last year.
“Many within the network have excelled and provided exceptional customer service while guiding buyers and sellers through their home moving journey. This year 86 Bronze, Silver, Gold and Special Awards were presented to Guild Members in honour of the outstanding results they achieved during 2021.
“The awards, which are sponsored by The Telegraph, were presented to Members by Presenter, Broadcaster and Former Sky Sports News Anchor, Kirsty Gallacher. As an organisation we are proud of our Members and are delighted to be able to celebrate their success.
“The Guild Awards are a way for us to acknowledge agent who have gone above and beyond for their clients and the industry in 2021. Congratulations to all agents and offices that received awards this year, and all the best for 2022.”
The list of Guild Regional Awards and Special Award winners
SALES
North East
Gold – Roseberry Newhouse
Silver – Mansons Property Consultants
Bronze – George F. White
Northern Ireland
Gold – John Minnis Estate Agents
Silver – CPS
Bronze – Kingham Property Services
North West
Gold – Harper Williams Estate Agents
Silver – David Davies Estate Agents Ltd
Bronze – Adams Estate Agents
Yorkshire & Humber
Gold – Emsleys Estate Agents
Silver – Harris Shields Collection
Bronze – Bartons
West Midlands
Gold – C Residential
Silver – Ferndown Estates
East Midlands
Gold – Bentons
Silver – Mundys
Bronze – Richard Watkins
East of England
Gold – Taylor Milburn
Silver – Parson Estate Agents
Silver – Mackay Property Agents
Bronze – Kingsleigh Residential
Wales
Gold – Archer & Co.
Silver – Morris Marshall & Poole Estate Agents
Bronze – Taylor & Co
South West
Gold – Marchand Petit
Silver – Diamond Estate Agents
Silver – Webbers Estate Agents
Bronze – DOMVS
London
Gold – Drivers & Norris
Silver – Conran
Silver – Benjamin Stevens Estate Agents
Bronze – Property Divas
South East
Gold – Wood & Pilcher
Silver – Seymours Estate Agents
Bronze – M&M Estate & Lettings Agent
Bronze – Foundation Estate Agent
South Central
Gold – Rochills Estate Agents
Silver – Belgarum Estate Agents
Bronze – ME Estate Agents
Bronze – Wye Residential
LETTINGS
North East
Gold – Kimmitt Lettings
Silver – Mansons Property Consultants
Bronze – Roseberry Newhouse
Northern Ireland
Gold – Homes Independent
Silver – John Minnis Estate Agents
Bronze – Daniel Henry Estate Agents
North West
Gold – David Davies Estate Agents
Silver – Adams Estate Agents
Yorkshire & Humber
Gold – Emsleys Estate Agents
Silver – Harris Shields Collection
Bronze – Moss Properties
West Midlands
Gold – Ferndown Estates
Bronze – C Residential
East Midlands
Gold – Mundys
Silver – Bentons Estate Agents
Bronze – Sally Botham
East of England
Gold – Platinum Properties
Silver – Mackay Property Agents
Bronze – Woodcock Holmes
Bronze – McCartney Property Services
Wales
Gold – Peter Morgan
Silver – Williams & Goodwin The Property People
Silver – Morris Marshall & Poole Estate Agents
Bronze – Kelvin Francis Estate Agents
South West
Gold – Webbers Estate Agents
Silver – Newquay Property Centre
Bronze – McFarlane Sales & Lettings
London
Gold – Drivers & Norris
Silver – Benjamin Stevens
Bronze – Conran
Bronze – Property Divas
South East
Gold – Sawyer & Co.
Silver – John Bray Estate Agents
Bronze – Page & Wells
South Central
Gold – Rochills Estate Agent
Silver – Belgarum Estate Agents
Bronze – Eastons Estate Agents
Bronze – Bernards Estate Agents
OVERALL WINNERS
Sales:
Overall Guild Agent of the year SALES: C Residential
Lettings:
Overall Guild Agent of the year LETTINGS: Webbers
SPECIAL AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Coulson Property Sale & Lettings
Supportive Guild Member: Conran
Best Newcomers: Alexander May and Hilton King & Locke
Community Champion: Thomas Morris
Brand Ambassador Award: Millbanks
Referrals Champion: Kent Estate Agents
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