With annual service charge fees seemingly escalating year on year how can owners gain control of these costs and protect their property investment?

The main reasons we see service charges increasing are due to building insurance premium rises following multiple claims or revaluations during the year, reactive repairs and maintenance costs escalating and the service charge budget being set too low historically. The only way to obtain a realistic and controlled service charge budget going forward is to develop an objective and pro-active 5–10-year plan for the building which groups major maintenance items together cost-effectively and in priority order. This planned approach in collaboration with all the owners helps to secure better value contractors and avoids more expensive reactive and unplanned maintenance, unnecessary insurance claims and setting the service charge budget too low.  

Given the shortage of good value for money and local contractors in Cumbria, how can owners find the right contractor to complete the job?

Cumbria is currently suffering from an inherent shortage of good quality and value for money contractors with many not willing to even quote due to the fact they are busy and booked up with existing customers many months in advance. This labour shortage is reflected in the contractor prices being charged per hour which based on local Building Control rates are twice as high for Cumbria versus Lancashire. In order to mitigate these costs owners should match the size and complexity of the job to the contractor. For simple and minor work, ensure the spec is clear from the outset, group common items together and ask a competent general handyman to complete on an hourly or day rate. For more major and complex works, instruct an objective survey to develop the required spec, request quotes and actively tender 2-3 reputable local and nonlocal specialist contractors and insist on fixed hourly rates rather than percentage-based pricing.

In a more stringent and onerous regulatory environment how can owners ensure their property is compliant from a building and fire safety perspective?

In terms of building work, any contractors you employ must be competent, with the correct insurance type and cover in place (e.g. minimum £5m public liability), hold any relevant accreditations and qualifications plus have completed all the necessary paperwork in advance of instruction (e.g. risk assessment and method statement). For any building works involving more than one contractor you need to instruct one of these contractors to take on the responsibility of principal contractor and per the CDM regulations appoint a principal designer to co-ordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase. In terms of fire safety, the first step is to instruct a fire risk assessment by a competent person who would ideally be independent, holds all the appropriate qualifications and has the relevant experience. Any remedial actions recommended in their report should be followed up in priority order, with actions documented as evidence and reviewed annually.