Leasehold Guide
What Is Estate Management?
Estate management is the job of looking after everything residents share: the grounds, roads, communal areas, buildings and the money that pays for them. This guide explains what an estate management company actually does.
What an estate management company does
An estate or property management company is appointed to run a development on behalf of whoever is responsible for it — a freeholder, a resident management company, a right to manage company or a developer. The work splits into four strands that run all year.
Money: setting an annual budget, demanding and collecting contributions, chasing arrears, keeping funds in a designated account and producing year-end accounts.
Buildings and grounds: inspecting the development, arranging repairs and routine services such as cleaning, gardening and lighting, maintaining plant like lifts and pumps, and planning for major works before they become emergencies.
Compliance: fire risk assessments, health and safety reports, water and electrical testing, insurance, and tracking the remedial actions those reports generate through to completion.
People: answering residents, reporting to directors, holding AGMs, keeping records and producing management packs when a property is sold or remortgaged.
Common questions
What is the difference between estate management and lettings?
A lettings agent works for a landlord letting an individual property to a tenant: finding tenants, collecting rent, handling that tenancy. Estate management is about the shared parts of a development and works for everyone who owns there. We deal exclusively with estate and property management, which is why there is no conflict between the two.
Does estate management include apartment buildings?
Yes. Residential estate management can cover apartment buildings and their communal areas as well as open estates of houses with shared roads, grounds, drainage and play areas.
Who pays for estate management?
The residents of the development, through the service charge on a leasehold block or an estate rent charge on an estate of houses. The management fee is one line within that budget.
How do I know if an estate management company is doing a good job?
Three simple tests: does someone attend the site regularly and write down what they found, do you get a reply within a day or two, and can you understand the budget and the accounts without help. Membership of a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman is a baseline, not a distinction.
Related pages
- Managing AgentsIndependent managing agents specialising in residential estate management across Oxfordshire, London and the Thames Valley, with regular site inspections and clear communication.
- Residential Estate ManagementSpecialists in residential estate management for private estates, Residents' Management Companies and communal developments. We don't just administer estates. We manage them.
- Leasehold Service ChargesWhat a leasehold service charge covers, how budgets and reserve funds are set, when charges can be challenged, and what a managing agent should provide each year.
Looking for an estate management company?
We have managed residential estates across Oxfordshire and London for over 16 years. Tell us about your development.