Muberry Property Management

We act as a Management Agent, appointed by the Management Company of your development to facilitate its smooth day to day running in accordance with RICS regulations.

We prepare the service charge budget, collect any charges due to the Management Company, and ensure maintenance and repairs are carried out in a timely manner and provide good value for money. This often involves appointing contractors to carry out maintenance and repairs, ensuring they carry out the work correctly, and that they are paid.

A service charge is a charge payable to the landlord or management company to contribute to the repairs and maintenance of the communal areas of the property or site. Your lease will specify how often this is collected.

Every year we estimate the amount of money to be spent on repairs and maintenance and charge it to leaseholders on behalf of the management company or freeholder. We are open about how this is calculated and you will receive details of this. The actual expenditure is reviewed at the end of the year and we invoice you for any shortfall or, if there is an underspend, your share will be credited to your account to offset future charges.

The owner doesn’t profit from the provision or supply of services and the costs which contribute to the service charge should be transparent. All service charge monies are held in dedicated Client Trust Accounts and any interest received goes directly to the leaseholders.

As managing agents of a property, we carry out a full annual review and set the service charge budget for the following year according to predicted expenditure. So while many leases do not specify the amount due, they should detail how it is collected. You will be informed of the service charge amount at the beginning of the financial year.

The management fee is one element of the service charge and is Mulberry’s charge for providing the day to day management of the development on behalf of the management company.

The management fee is a set annual charge per property within the development and is not a percentage of the overall expenditure of the development. This is so we as a management agent are not incentivised to increase expenditure for our own gain. We are totally transparent about service charge costs to give you peace of mind that we are acting in the best interests of the development.

A reserve fund is a pot of money collected over time, usually as part of your service charge, and set aside to cover major works and routine maintenance jobs like exterior painting. The lease will specify exactly what is covered. The money is kept in a dedicated Client Trust Account, and any interest payable is shared among the leaseholders.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, the scope and cost of major works can exceed the amount of money in the reserve fund. It can also coincide with unforeseen costs within the service charge year which need addressing to safeguard the health and safety of occupiers. In that case, we will have to charge an additional sum to cover such costs.

We hold all service charge and reserve fund monies in dedicated Client Trust Accounts, in line with Section 42 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987.

Reserve funds are ringfenced separately from Service Charges and any interest received goes directly to leaseholders.

We realise that circumstances can change and this can lead to tenants having difficulty paying their service charge as set out in the lease. If this is the case, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss payment options.

We hope our budget explanations will answer any questions you may have about how the money has been spent. But if you are unhappy about any aspect of your service charge, please get in touch with us for a chat.

As the occupier you would have received and signed a copy of the lease when you took on the unit or building. If you have misplaced your lease, you can either buy one from the Land Registry or we can provide a copy for a charge of £25 +VAT.

If you have been allocated one or more parking spaces, it will be specified in your lease. If someone else keeps parking in your space/s and you cannot safely and politely ask them not to, or they’re not taking any notice, please let your property manager know and we’ll work to resolve the issue.

As managing agents for commercial properties, we appoint a contractor to empty waste and recycling bins. If they’re not being emptied often enough or the bins are being filled incorrectly, please contact us and we’ll take steps to remedy the problem. You can find details of what is recycled in your area by visiting the local council website.

In the case of a real emergency, such as a flood or fire, call the emergency services by dialling 999.

If you think the part of the building may be unstable as the result of an incident, please contact our property management team as soon as possible. Please also contact your building’s caretaker or emergency contact service if there is one.

Please note, the occupier of the building will be liable for charges in the event of inappropriate use of our emergency number.

Yes, our property managers make regular site visits to commercial properties they manage. We are more than happy to meet you during a visit to say hello or if there is something you wish to discuss. We can also schedule additional site visits if there is something urgent which needs our attention.

Most leases include clauses or covenants that prevent alterations to either the plan or the elevations of the properties without prior consent. Please contact us to clarify your position. Please also note some alterations may also require the need for planning permission or building regulations.

Mulberry PM is committed to providing the highest standard in customer service and we welcome all feedback, good or bad, to help us provide this. If we have fallen short of expectations, we welcome the chance to hear about it and try and put it right. Please click here to find our complaints handling procedure and details of how to contact our complaints handler.