One of the main roles of any Residential Management company is to maintain their client’s properties. This is a core element of the Southside offer and we attach great importance to the role, regardless of whether we are managing a single flat or a block of fifty apartments.
Works can generally be divided into ongoing Maintenance Services or more specific Major Works, professionally managed by our in-house team or through contracted specialists as required:
Other than period Major works and Projects, Southside are responsible for the provision of ongoing general maintenance and housekeeping services across the estates managed. These services typically will include General Building, Grounds Maintenance, Cleaning and Handypersons, but also extend to Drainage, Roofing, Electrical Services and Pest Control.
As these contactors are often the face of our own organisation at client properties, it’s important that they share the same Service Standards, Professionalism and Customer Service skills as our own in-house team. With this in mind, we established an Approved Contractors Network (ACN).
Southside’s Condition & Inspection reports are often used to plan future major works, which are often specified within the lease, for example the periodic decoration of common parts.
Such works, often described as S.20, are in reference to Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended) and concern the management of any works (or programme of works) deemed as ‘Major’ at a given property. The core element includes suitable ‘consultation’ with Leaseholders and Lessor’s (or those responsible for the Lessors obligations), must ensure that all Leaseholders are properly consulted in a legally prescribed format.
Those responsible for the Lessors obligations must be aware that if the prescribed format is not followed, the consequences can be significant, as the leaseholder may be entitled to contribute no more than the major works ‘threshold’.
Every year, Southside manage numerous projects under this format, ranging from cyclical decorations, through to replacement window programmes, the construction of parking areas and even the replacement of entire roofs. As well as ensuring consultation obligations are met, we will also manage all Planning and Building Control requirements, the appointment of any specialists (e.g. architects) and manage both the tender process and subsequent works.
Such projects are charged on a fixed fee, usually based upon a percentage of the project value. However, given the economies of scale that we enjoy in many areas of construction and building maintenance, we find that the savings we can achieve often exceed our own fees. In practice, this means our clients obtain savings on project costs and get a professional management service included for free!
Our business model is simple and effective, we specialise in providing quality Residential Management and related Professional Services. However, we understand that with increasing levels of regulation and legislation, we need to have at our disposal, a reliable and qualified network of like minded professionals to meet our clients’ needs.
With this in mind, we have developed our own network of approved contractors, each of which subscribe to our own high standards and offer cost effective solutions to clients. Collectively, they represent a range of services we are happy to provide to our clients. The model works because of the economies of scale we enjoy with our affiliated partners and because we can then pass on these savings to our clients.
Please be assured however that our network is not simply a referrals service. We always maintain our position as the primary point of contact for our clients, we will inspect the work or services provided and we always ask for feedback. We began introducing the service a number of years ago, when clients began asking for recommendations and has grown steadily to a full and varied group.
Listed below are a number of the services we currently offer through partner organisations, though the list is certainly not exhaustive. Please do feel free to contact us if you need a professional trades person or property professional you can trust:
Southside has always come up trumps when key issues emerge, whether it is the prolonged process of applying for planning to change our windows or the latest, negotiating on our behalf to buy a share of the Freehold, which has been particularly complicated.