perpetual-residence

Energy Procurement

looka_production_95009332 — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 21:09:11 GMT

Perpetuals Procurement Process

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The Impact of the Changes to Building Safety

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 10:54:45 GMT

Perpetual Perspective on the Building Safety Act 2022

Perpetual Residence been in contact with all Clients to discuss the changes to the approach of Building Safety following the approach to Building Safety from construction to management has seen significant legislation changes most recently is The Building Safety Act 2022 (“the Act”), receiving Royal Assent on 28th April 2022. Whilst the Act is in force, it is likely to take up to 18 months to see all aspects of the Act introduced.

Whilst the act is not limited to residential buildings there are key aspects which we have set out within our overview.

The Act sets out a requirement for an Accountable Person (“AP”). The person fulfilling the role will have ultimate responsibility for safety within a building, although they can carry out their duties with the assistance of other competent organisations. It is expected that the owner of the building (freeholder), will be the AP, although where there is a Resident Management Company (RMC) or Right to Manage Company (RTM), they will take the role.

Many RMC or RTM Directors are volunteers, if the RMC or RTM is the Accountable Person this will place additional legal responsibilities on those Directors, even as volunteers. As the legislation places new responsibilities on them which will extend their duties the Act allows for Direcors to be paid. This will allow a paid Director to be appointed, which would allow an expert to review the Fire Safety. For complex buildings, it may not be possible to idenify a single AP so there is the ability to appoint a Principal Accountable Person (PAP), who is the ultimate nominated Accountable Person, with the other APs responsible for managing risk within their areas of responsibility. The PAP will have specific responsibilities in addition to their other AP responsibilities to ensure that the building is managed safely.

Buildings will need to be registered by the AP on the new Building Safety Regulator and prepare a safety case for the building. The safety case is the assessment of risks related to the building and a documented framework managing the risks.

The new responsibilities extend out to residents. Residents are now responsible to work with the AP to discharge their duties this includes providing them access to their properties, with reasonable notice. Residents must not introduce significant risk to the building. A contravention notice can be issued by the AP should a resident not meet their obligations.

The Act aims to provide residents a greater voice in the management of their building and transparency. This is set out in Residents’ Engagement Strategy which the AP is responsible for.

Recycling... changes we can all consider

test@looka.com — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 12:57:40 GMT

Perpetuals perspective on recycling

It is part of our business fundamentals to impact and operate the buildings under our management in an sustainable way.

In order to get more people recycling, it needs to be easy for people to access recycling services in their place of work and where they live. That is why we are always striving to offer more ways to make recycling convenient for residents living at the developments we manage, as well as our staff, so they can live a more environmentally conscious life. This week we are excited to announce several new recycling initiatives at our developments.

CYCLE RECYCLE

We have teamed up with the charity Recycle-a-Bike so that any bikes that are no longer wanted can be recycled and reconditioned to provide affordable bikes for the local community , rather than these ending up in landfill. Recycle-a-Bike is a volunteer based non-profit organisation that helps people who suffer from poor mental health, providing support, training and a stepping stone back to employment. A bulk collection of unwanted bicycles will take place across our developments annually.

FURNITURE DONATIONS

Every year around 1.6 million tonnes of bulky waste is thrown away in the UK and 42% of this is made up of furniture. Often furniture is in good condition and could still be used. The estate management teams across our developments are setting up furniture recycling services to donate unwanted furniture to local charities, so that can it be sold to raise money for good causes and given a new lease of life. Charities usually collect large items for free, avoiding the costs charged by local authorities for arranging bulky waste removals.

BATTERY RECYCLING

We all know batteries shouldn’t be thrown away in the usual household rubbish, so to make recycling them easier for our residents we are working with the European Recycling Platform. They collect batteries from over 12,000 locations throughout the UK and are providing free battery collection boxes across our developments where there isn’t already a battery recycling scheme in place.

CLOTHES COLLECTIONS

When you want to recycle clothes that you no longer wear, taking them to the charity shop can feel like an effort that you never quite get around to. We have set up clothes collection bins at many of our developments and, this week, we have also introduced them in our offices. Through our partnerships with laundry and dry-cleaning service suppliers LaundryRepublic, clothes are collected and given to charity, preventing them from ending up in landfill. Donated clothes are sold in Scope’s charity shops to raise funds to support disabled people and their families, which raised over £24,000 last year.

We are also aiming to reduce paper usage and, as a business, become as paperless as possible. All leaseholders have the option to only receive e-billing. Leaseholders wishing to opt into this service will find information on how to do this on all service charge demands or they can contact us at info@perpetualresidence.co.uk

For further information about our recycling initiatives, or any support you have for our commitment to be more green please contact: info@perpetualresidence.co.uk