Independent Managing Agents - London
Block Management London
East Valley Properties is an independent block management company based in Romford, working with RTM companies, resident management companies, share of freehold developments and freeholders across Greater London. Transparent fees, hands-on management, and directors who stay in control of their own building.
- Independent managing agent, directors keep control
- No commissions on contractor invoices
- No commissions on insurance or communal utilities
- Fees agreed in writing before appointment
Who we manage London blocks for
This is a block management service for communal residential developments. Most boards that approach us are looking for a managing agent who will answer the phone, explain the numbers and let directors make the decisions about their own building.
RTM companies
Professional management once Right to Manage has been acquired, and for RTM boards that have decided to move away from their current managing agent.
RTM company managementResident management companies
Day-to-day management of the development while the RMC board keeps oversight of budgets, contracts and significant expenditure.
Our block management serviceShare of freehold developments
Management and administration for resident-owned freehold companies, including company records, service charge accounts and compliance coordination.
Share of freehold managementFreeholders
Management of residential and mixed-use buildings where the scope of work suits a hands-on, transparent approach rather than a volume model.
Services for freeholdersWhat professional block management includes
Block management is mostly unglamorous administration done consistently: money in, money out, statutory obligations met, contractors managed and directors kept informed.
Service charge budgeting and collection
Annual budgets, demands issued with the statutory summary of rights and obligations, collection, arrears monitoring and expenditure reporting through the year.
Accounts and reserve funds
Coordination of year-end service charge accounts with your accountant, plus reserve and sinking fund administration. What can be collected and how it may be spent depends on the terms of your lease.
Repairs, maintenance and contractors
Reactive repairs, planned maintenance programmes, contractor procurement and quotations, with clear updates to directors and residents on what is happening and when.
Compliance and building safety coordination
Where applicable: fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, health and safety, lift servicing and LOLER, water hygiene and specialist surveys. We coordinate competent specialists to carry out these assessments; we do not carry them out ourselves.
Section 20 and major works administration
Consultation administration, coordination of the professional team where a surveyor or consultant is appointed, tenders and estimates, and leaseholder correspondence at each stage.
Communication and director reporting
A named contact who knows the building, responses to leaseholder queries, and regular reporting to directors on spend, works, arrears and outstanding issues. Company secretarial support where that is part of the agreed scope.
More detail sits on our main block management page, service charge management and Section 20 consultation support. Specialist work such as fire risk assessment, surveying and legal advice is carried out by competent external professionals, which we coordinate on the board's behalf.
Appointing an agent does not mean losing control
This is the question RTM and RMC directors ask first. Appointing a managing agent transfers the administration and the day-to-day work, not the board's authority over its own development. Management arrangements can establish:
- Expenditure approval thresholds
- Director approval for significant or unbudgeted works
- Annual service charge budget approval
- Contractor selection and approval where agreed
- Visibility of invoices and expenditure
- Agreed reporting arrangements
- Escalation of major decisions to the board
The exact approval process and expenditure limits are agreed with each client and are not identical for every development. For the background, see our expert answer on whether a managing agent can spend without director approval.
A transparent, commission-free commercial model
We charge a management fee and that is what we are paid. We do not take commissions from contractors, from building insurance or from communal utility supply. That keeps our interests aligned with the board's: there is nothing for us to gain from a more expensive contractor or a particular insurance placement.
- No commission on contractor invoices
- No commission on building insurance
- No commission on communal utility supply
- Fees agreed in writing before appointment
- Invoices and expenditure visible to directors
Other agents structure their businesses differently, and some disclose commissions properly. Our point is simply that ours is easier to check: the fee is the fee.
Block management fees
Our block management starts from £2,000 per year, and for many developments works out at approximately £315 to £365 per unit annually. We do not apply a separate London rate. That range will not fit every block, so we quote against the building rather than a price list.
- Number of units
- Building complexity
- Lifts and communal systems
- On-site staffing or caretaking
- Major works in progress or planned
- Compliance requirements
- Service charge and lease complexity
Section 20 consultation and major works administration may carry a separately agreed fee, set out before the work starts.
View Block Management FeesExamples of the issues we manage
Anonymised examples of live work from our portfolio, which is concentrated in East London, Romford and the Essex border. They show how we approach problems rather than claiming finished outcomes.
External wall and fire safety coordination
We took over a 10-unit development with unresolved external-wall and balcony fire-safety questions. We reviewed the information inherited from the previous agent, established the next steps and commissioned appropriate specialist assessment, including an FRAEW carried out by a suitably qualified assessor. The review process is ongoing.
A difficult access problem
At another residential development, cleaning the upper windows had become difficult because of the access arrangements on site. We investigated the practical options and sourced a contractor capable of undertaking the work safely.
Inherited roof works and reserve funding
At a recently appointed RTM development, we are reviewing an inherited programme involving roof and external works alongside a substantial proposed reserve fund contribution. We are establishing the professional reports, specifications, costings, proposed timing, sums already collected and any contractual commitments before the board takes decisions.
RTM companies and resident management companies
Resident-controlled developments are a large part of what we do, and the right starting point depends on where your building has got to.
Your RTM company already exists
You have not acquired RTM yet
Thinking of changing managing agent in London?
Many boards contacting us already have an agent and simply want the building run differently. Reasons directors commonly give include:
- Slow or difficult communication with the current agent
- Limited visibility of how service charge money is being spent
- Repairs and maintenance issues that drift
- Financial reporting directors find hard to follow
- Compliance actions that are not progressing
- Concerns about commissions or supplier mark-ups
- Building records that appear incomplete
At a high level the transition means reviewing the existing arrangements and who holds the appointment, agreeing termination and timing, then requesting a full handover. Records and information typically requested include:
Our guide to changing managing agent explains the decision-making side, the managing agent handover checklist sets out the operational detail, and our expert answers cover how long a handover takes and which documents the outgoing agent should provide.
Smaller and medium-sized developments
Much of London's leasehold stock sits in converted houses, low-rise blocks and modest new-build schemes. A smaller development still has statutory obligations, accounts to produce and contractors to manage; it simply needs a proportionate service. We also manage larger developments where the scope suits our approach.
- Professional service charge administration and demands
- Compliance coordination appropriate to the size and type of building
- Structured planned and reactive maintenance
- Transparent financial reporting directors can follow
- Managing-agent expertise without a large-block cost structure
- Continuity when directors change or step back
Where we work across London
East Valley Properties is based in Romford and provides block management across Greater London and Essex. Our established portfolio and day-to-day experience are concentrated in East London, Romford and the Essex border, and we consider suitable instructions elsewhere in London from that base. We do not maintain offices around the capital, and if a development is too far away for us to manage it properly we will say so.
Related pages:
Block Management London FAQs
Common questions from RTM directors, RMC boards, share of freehold companies and freeholders considering a managing agent in London.
Request a block management proposal
Tell us about your development - units, ownership structure, current arrangements and what is not working - and we will come back with a written proposal and a realistic fee.