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Welcome
to the Federation of Private Residents' Associations
We
are a not-for-profit advice, support and lobbying organisation for private residential
leaseholders, tenants' and residents' associations, and residential management
companies.
We are the national voice of residents' associations and are frequently
consulted by government.
Our advisory services are free to members, who pay
an annual subscription fee.
The FPRA encourages leaseholders
to set up residents' associations and publishes a guide on how to do it.
The FPRA offers its members specialist legal, insurance, management, and
building guidance.
The FPRA represents and understands the interests
of both tenants' associations and resident management companies.
The
FPRA keeps its members informed about current issues and events affecting
leaseholders.
The FPRA publishes a quarterly 12 page newsletter
for its members (a
sample copy of the Newsletter can be purchased for £3.50 inc. p&p)
The FPRA publishes information guides and booklets, which are available
to non-members.
The FPRA is a vital information resource for leaseholders,
with articles, news, newsletters and article index, forms to download, and a discussion
forum.
So
if you ... are a leaseholder in a block of flats, have problems with your
freeholder, need to form a residents' association, part-own the freehold and/
or manage your own block.
Read
what Property People says about the FPRA
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Is
the statutory regulation of managing agents off the political agenda? Is
the government dropping its interest in regulating managing agents, and instead
opting for the self-regulation of the sector by existing trade bodies? The audience
at a recent CARLEX meeting was advised this is the case.
In response
to this, FPRA Chairman Bob Smytherman calls on politicians to commit to a scheme
of independent regulation that leaseholders can be confident will work. See
full details in the FPRA's latest press release
Posted 26/01/10
Not
so says the DCLG
The FPRA has since heard from the Department of Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) that no decision has been made on how to proceed with
the question of regulation. The imminent publication of responses to the Rugg
Review may offer clues as to future policy direction on this key issue.
Posted
8/02/10
ARMA SEEKS TO IMPROVE ITS COMPLAINTS
PROCEDURE
The Association of Residential Managing
Agents (ARMA) has recently announced a substantial and welcome improvement to
its complaints procedure. ARMA has been criticised in the past for not dealing
effectively with complaints against its members and those who breach ARMA's Code
of Practice. ARMA has joined the Surveyors
Ombudsman Service (SOS), an independent organisation designed to investigate and
resolve complaints against surveyors. It was set up by the Royal Institution of
Surveyors (RICs). By introducing an independent third party, ARMA aims to remedy
the shortfalls in its existing procedures. All ARMA's members will now be subject
to the SOS's procedures. ARMA is a trade body
representing managing agents, which self-regulates its members' conduct through
an agreed Code of Practice. The FPRA has worked with ARMA over many years on various
projects, and both organisations share the aim of improving standards in block
management.
A key factor in achieving this aim, is to have a transparent
mechanism for dealing with complaints against managing agents, and for the Code
of Practice to be enforced. The complaints received by the Ombudsman and their
recommendations should also be published, so people can see what the problems
are and what action has been taken. Everyone can learn from the experience. The
FPRA hopes that ARMA's joining of SOS is a major step forward in this direction.
See ARMA's
press release (listed in 'Latest News')
Posted
6/12/09 
RICs
Publishes Summary Report on Transparency Consultation
Last
summer the Royal Insitution of Chartered Surveyors (RICs) ran a consultation excercise
on transparency in professional fees, for services such as insurance. The
FPRA attended one session and raised some examples of
poor practice experienced by FPRA members.
The summary report recognises
the problems, notes that there was almost unanimous agreement that the leasehold
sector needs regulating (together with letting agents and landlords) to deal with
the problems, and that there should be consistency across the sector.
For the full report click
here
Posted 12/12/09
| Contact
Us
General inquries
Email - info@fpra.org.uk
Phone - 0871 200 3324
Post - The Federation of Private
Residents' Associations, PO Box 10271, Epping, CM16 9DB Website
stephen@fpra.org.uk |
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| FPRA
ATTENDS CARLEX MEETING
FPRA
Chairman Bob Smytherman attended the latest
meeting meeting
of CARLEX in Chichester. He helped promote the importance of forming a Residents'
Association as the first step in dealing with management problems in leasehold
properties.
CARLEX
is the Campaign Against Retirement Leasehold EXploitation, which has generated
a remarkable whirlwind of press and political interest in the problems of the
(mis)management of retirement homes in the leasehold sector.
Posted
24/01/10
RIP
OFF BRITAIN: LEASEHOLD INVESTIGATED
FPRA
Chairman Bob Smytherman appeared on the BBC's Rip Off Britain programme. Dubbed
the 'Residents' Champion', Bob declared it 'scandalous' that the multi-billion
pound leasehold sector is unregulated.
Shown on 3rd December 2009, it can
be viewed or downloaded from the BBC website
Posted 4/12/09
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Order a sample copy of the Newsletter
for only £3.50, including postage and packing
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