How we research, write, check and correct the property and block management guidance published on this website.
Our property and block management guidance is written in-house by Romain Maillard, Director of East Valley Properties and East Valley Block Management. Where an article is published under his name, he wrote or edited it and is responsible for its contents.
We write about the work we actually do: service charge budgets and reconciliations, handovers from previous managing agents, statutory consultation for major works, compliance actions, arrears, contractor management and Right to Manage arrangements. Practical experience tells us which questions come up repeatedly and where directors and leaseholders most often get stuck. It does not replace the legal or technical sources, which we check separately.
Statements about the law, statutory procedures, time limits and official requirements are checked against primary sources before publication, and re-checked when we make a substantive update. We prefer primary sources in this order: legislation on legislation.gov.uk, official Tribunal and court judgments, GOV.UK and departmental guidance, and publications of recognised statutory or professional bodies. Where an article relies on such sources, we cite them on the page so a reader can go and check them.
We do not rely on secondary commentary, marketing content from other firms, or summaries of the law found elsewhere online as the basis of a factual claim.
Publication dates reflect when a page was first published. An "Updated" date is shown only where an article has genuinely received a substantive review or amendment. We do not change dates to make content appear fresh.
If something we have published is wrong, out of date or unclear, tell us and we will check it. Where a correction is needed we amend the page and, where the change is material, record that the article was updated. Corrections can be raised through our contact page.
Everything on this website is general property and block management information. It is not legal, accounting, surveying, fire safety or other regulated professional advice. Outcomes in leasehold matters usually turn on the wording of an individual lease, the facts of a particular building or the circumstances of a specific dispute. Where a decision depends on any of those, obtain advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
We only state that an article was reviewed by a solicitor, accountant, surveyor or fire safety professional where a named person genuinely carried out that review. We do not use vague labels such as "expert reviewed".
Automated tools, including AI, may assist with organising research, drafting or editing. They are not treated as a source of fact. Every page is verified by a responsible human before publication: the facts, the legal statements, the figures and the cited sources are checked against the primary material, and anything that cannot be supported is removed or rewritten. Responsibility for what appears on the page rests with the named author, not with a tool.
We do not publish invented case studies, quotations, statistics, credentials, memberships, awards or first-hand experience. Where we describe a real instruction, it is anonymised and labelled as such, and confidential or commercially sensitive details and residents' identities are kept private. Illustrative figures are described as illustrative and are never presented as a client's results.
Articles are written to answer genuine questions we are asked by leaseholders, directors, freeholders, landlords and housing providers, not simply to capture search traffic. If a question is already properly answered elsewhere on this site, we improve that page rather than publishing another one.
Start with the Knowledge Centre or read about the author.