Block management that puts directors in control.
At Canonbury we've listened to our clients and developed property management services to accommodate your specific needs — a bespoke service with the flexibility you need, freeing your directors to make discretionary expenditure decisions without the mountains of paperwork you might experience elsewhere.
We can offer a total hands-on approach or step back to put control of the day-to-day management in your hands. If you've been told that changing block management companies is a logistical nightmare — it's not. Everything you need is online, forms take minutes, and a normal transition is around five days — a single day if necessary. Problems can be reported online at any time, and every block has contractors in place for urgent repairs.
Get in touch for a free, no-obligation consultation
We aim to contact all customers within 120 minutes during office hours.
Technology at the heart of your block.
Download our brochureOur PDF brochure provides a wealth of information about our block management service and the many reasons why Canonbury Management is your only choice as your new managing agent.
Technology is at the heart of any business and even more so at Canonbury Management. We continually invest in our systems to provide simple, clear effective communication mechanisms and to ensure that problems are promptly resolved. Leaseholders have full access to detailed accounting records including invoices so they can be sure where their hard earned money is being spent.
Canonbury Management only works with blocks where the leaseholders are in control either through ownership of their own freehold or a Right to Manage company. This means that we must provide an excellent standard of service or we would not be able to retain clients so you can be confident of the quality of our service.
Our unique service can be tailored to the specific needs of your block through the use of our bespoke management system. This has either unique or at worst rare functionality to assist us in providing the best possible service with clear, concise and tailored communication and detailed record keeping visible to leaseholders (where permitted by data protection law). For our staff we have a full customer relationship management system which means that all tasks, faults or jobs must be seen through to completion. Integrated links to Companies House, HMRC, FCA, Land Registry and many other entities we can very efficiently deal with all aspects of the day to day management of your block / development.
We also have a team of skilled staff members who perform all of the day to day maintenance of your building, from cleaning to lift maintenance. All staff are trained to spot problems as they occur and report them back to head office for resolution. For the small number of issues that are not picked up by our staff, our customers all have access to mobile phone based reporting tool. All you need to do is detail the problem, where it is and provide a photo or two and we will do the rest, always keeping the reporting person up to date on what is happening.
Client liaison is dealt with via one of our directors who will provide up to 4 meetings per annum depending on the block size. You probably won't feel that they are needed though as our Directors Dashboard allows you to view all outstanding tasks for authorisation, detailed accounting records shows you which leaseholders are in arrears, what your bank account balance is and what your future liabilities are.
One of the major issues we have found with the block management services undertaken in our industry is the lack of engagement with those who live at the development, with respect to the way in which the service charge monies are calculated and spent. In order to resolve this problem, we always engage the directors of the block / development when calculating the service charge budgets, and for any discretionary expenditure. For instance, if a problem is reported to us for which there is no existing maintenance contract, an estimate is calculated for the cost of repair and the matter is then automatically referred to the building directors for authorisation to proceed. This ensures they are always aware of where the money is being spent. As with all our systems, the ability to review, defer, close, authorise or raise new tasks is made available through our online client area, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“We cannot recommend Canonbury enough. They have helped us recover £252,000 in over charged fees from our previous agents and each year they save us tens of thousands from the estate management company. David is always on hand to provide assistance to fit around our busy lives and there have been great improvements across the residential estate. We look forward to working with Canonbury for many years to come.”
Martin Hesselink, Woolwich Central RMC Director · 19 July 2019
What are our service charges?
We aim to provide a completely transparent management service and so publish all of our charges clearly on our website. We believe it is imperative for the block management industry to be clear and unambiguous in everything we do.
Five ways we do things differently.
We will reduce costs and save you money
- Annual Energy Price Tendering – we use an energy provider for our blocks who annually checks the optimal energy contracts and will move provider automatically if it is better value to do so.
- Free specifications – the first block manager to provide free specifications for all maintenance contracts including cleaning, gardening, window cleaning, porter job descriptions, exterior cleaning, bin-room cleaning, lift maintenance, lighting replacement, maintenance of intercoms, access control, gates and other electronic equipment.
- Insurance – our brokers tender with multiple underwriters each year to ensure the best rate for your block. Our policies usually have a minimal excess, helping to keep individual claimants' costs to a low level.
- Canonbury Upgrade – we look to improve your block over time by fitting more reliable equipment to reduce bills. Examples include motion-sensitive light switches, long life, low energy bulbs, led bulbs, power supply-regulated intercom systems, Trimec electronic locks.
- In-house Contractors – we make use of our own in-house contractors for most electrical and maintenance work to ensure that standards are high and that, as we are repeat players, we can make your block run better and for less.
- Proactive Maintenance – our full range of maintenance specifications from lift servicing through to drain clearance and grease removal ensure that your property is proactively maintained, as far as possible – thereby reducing costs.
We work efficiently and transparently
- Excellent communication – in most cases, we respond to email enquiries within 20 minutes and phone calls directly when staff levels permit. We respond promptly to letters and faxes. In November 2011 the longest time we took to answer a call was 67 seconds.
- Canonbury 100% Transparency – we are the only company to show scanned copies of all invoices for your block, online. We account for every penny of income and expenditure in real time, online.
- Regular meetings with block directors – depending on the size of your block and its needs, we meet with block directors between once and 4 times a year.
- Rigorous Property Inspections – we have in-house surveyors and architects for detailed annual inspections of your block – extra charges apply. All blocks are also inspected every 3 months as part of our management fee. Inspection results from detailed annual inspections are shown online.
- Contractor work photograph logs – all work undertaken by our contractors is backed up by a before and after photograph including recurring maintenance contract work.
- Mobile app – we provide a mobile app for leaseholders to report problems and communicate with us and for client directors to review and authorise ad hoc works on the go.
Your data is accessible and secure
- Registered with the Data Protection Registrar – so you can be sure that we look after your data and keep it safe.
- Our system is hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform. We never store your login credentials ourselves as this is all stored by Microsoft themselves so you can be sure the highest levels of security are implemented on a continual basis.
- BS 7799/ISO 27001 – Standard on Information Security Management to ensure your data is held securely.
- Contractor Invoice Checking – contractors can only add invoices against your property if they have been authorised to do so by our issuing them with a works instruction. This prevents fraud by contractors submitting bogus invoices.
- Remote CCTV and Access Control Administration – ability to remotely control and administer your CCTV and Access Control systems (subject to installation and maintenance contracts being in place with Canonbury Electrical) so we can reduce costs of issuing new fobs and be more responsive in finding CCTV footage where required.
We meet and exceed industry standards
- Federation of Master Builders – our building contractors (in-house) are all members of the federation of master builders.
- ILEC Lift Specifications for maintenance – we use specifications for our lift maintenance contractors which are produced by an independent lift consultancy firm. We also ensure that lifts are managed under British Standard 7255 and brought into compliance with that standard over time where not compliant.
- Industry Standards – we exceed the standards of ARMA and RICS Residential Code by a long way – just look at our services list and compare with the RICS Residential Management Code or ARMA standards. All our specifications are built to National Building Specification Standards by our in-house architect.
- ISO 9000 – Canonbury is compliant with ISO 9000.
- FCA Authorised and Regulated – to ensure the safety of your client funds we are regulated and authorised by the FCA. Don't make the mistake of using a company who is not. All your funds are held in statutory client accounts for your protection. It is a legal requirement to be FCA Registered in order to arrange insurance on your behalf so if our rivals are not registered, don't take the risk of using them.
- Companies House Proof Scheme – all our clients' companies are registered under the Proof Scheme of Companies House to help avoid any misuse by 3rd parties of the company.
We care about the environment
- Carbon Neutral – through our use of low-power PCs and our paper-free operation we keep our carbon footprint to a minimum. Trees are planted at one of our out of town offices to compensate for any carbon dioxide our operations do produce.
- Electricity usage monitoring – we report on electricity consumption over time to show the efficacy of our LED light and motion-sensitive switch technology.
- Paperless – we are 100% paper free. This helps the environment, helps us give you better information online and has no impact on those who wish to receive documents in paper form – they can still have this.
- Electronic communication – we ask all of our leaseholder clients to provide us with an e-mail address for communication to limit as far as possible our use of physical post.
- Green Electricity – all of our clients communal electricity supplies are migrated to a green energy tariff.
- No more plastic – wherever possible we do not use any single use plastic.
Questions we are asked most.
Not answered here? Call us on 0207 1188 400 or use the enquiry form above.
Is there a way to have an account linked to more than one client?
Whilst it is a legal requirement for each managed client to have their own designated client account, some agents ignore this rule and mix all client monies under a single account. Canonbury does not do this. We maintain all client funds in separate designated accounts so money is never mixed with that of other clients.
How long does it take Canonbury to take over management of a building?
Once you are happy with the level of services and quote produced by our online quote calculator, Canonbury's systems can produce contracts to be signed online in just a few minutes. Once these are completed, Canonbury is then under contract as your new manager and can usually have your block set up within 5 working days of taking over. If there is a need for urgency, we can take blocks on in as little as 1 working day.
If you require a quote to include any other services which are not shown on our quote calculator, simply contact us and let us know your quote number and what the extra requirements are and we can add them to your quote and update our quote calculator for future customers.
Does Canonbury offer Service Level Agreements?
Canonbury's unique approach to management means that we will always respond to your emails promptly. We log all calls and reported problems in an online log available for you to see and problems are usually resolved as soon as they can practicably be done, subject to funds being available.
Is Canonbury able to act as company Secretary or Director of our management company?
Yes. Canonbury can act as company secretary and nominee directors if this is required. We would also require that you change the registered office of the company to our offices so that we are made aware of any filing requirements. We can file annual returns and accounts as required.
What happens if something goes wrong outside office hours?
Report it through the client area or the app at any time. Add a photo and it is logged with our team straight away, you receive a reference, and you can follow progress online. The lifts, heating and other systems we maintain under contract show a live operational status, so you can see whether a fault is already known. Emergencies covered by insurance are handled with our brokers, and every block has its own contractors in place for urgent repairs.
What happens if we have problem lessees who do not pay their bills?
It is normal in any block that there may be lessees who do not pay their bills in either the short or long term. Here is how we handle it:
- Service charges may be higher in the short term — depending on the number of lessees who fall into this category, the service charge may have to be higher than our quote engine has specified, in order that we have sufficient funds available to provide services at the block.
- Costs are recovered over time — in the longer term, everyone will pay the same amount. As money is received from those who are not paying, the client account balance will be greater and can then fund future reductions in service charges.
- Legal action is available — Canonbury can take full legal action to recover unpaid service charges, however, customers must be aware that at present, the recovery of legal costs is limited to £500 for each lessee.
If there is a low level of funding in your client account at present, it may mean the frequency of service charge payment has to be set to a less frequent basis, such as once or twice per year, so that funds can be collected to provide services. If sufficiently high contingency and capital funding are built into the quote, it should be possible to increase the frequency of service charge payment and reduce the amount, in the second year of management.
What happens if there are arrears owing by lessees?
It is normal that at any point in time, some lessees may have arrears. The previous management company usually passes on details of these arrears to us and these are added onto the lessees' account for us to collect on behalf of your block. Arrears cannot be written off because some people will have paid their bills and so it would not be equitable to write off those arrears which have not yet been paid.
If there are disputes over elements of expenditure by the previous company, it would be down to individual lessees to dispute these with the management company. If not successful, they would have to take their claims to the First Tier Property Tribunal in order to have them determine whether there was any validity in what they say.
Can Canonbury deal with problems with the building left over from the Developers?
Yes. Canonbury has considerable experience in liaising with developers on behalf of lessees to achieve a rapid solution to their problems. Developers are usually very poor at resolving snagging issues and so by taking those off their hands and presenting them with an easy-to-pay single invoice, we are normally able to resolve these issues quite effectively.
Can we keep our existing contractors if we are happy with them?
Yes. As long as contractors can comply with our terms and conditions for third party service providers then we can retain their services.
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