Garden Management

The Gardens of London are some of the most private and varied parts of the city.

As large and open spaces they are highly prized assets, some established by their own Acts of Parliament and some falling under the remit of the 1931 London Squares Act.

Just like the Gardens themselves, our Garden Management Services are completely bespoke. As the largest manager of independently-owned gardens in London, we provide a range of services from simple key and record holding to full management.

Hyde Park, London - 1890

Camille Pissarro

Each Garden has their own constitution and legal basis for operating. Those within Kensington and Chelsea are bound by the 1851 Garden Act and their annual garden rate is collect via resident’s council tax bill. Others have their own Acts of Parliament which sets out how they are governed, and those in Little Venice were ceded by the Church Commissioners during the early 1980’s under Rentcharge schemes. Some have playgrounds, some have private roads, some host events for residents.

We are confident that our knowledge and experience can be used to improve the general running of any communal garden.

Some of the many and varied project we have overseen include:

Creation and maintenance of Garden websites
Installation of powered gates to improve disabled access
Installation and maintenance of electronic access systems
Planning for Bonfire Parties, Summer Parties, Carol Singing and Open Air Cinema nights
Management of filming and photo shoots
Updating and refining Company Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Garden Rules and Regulations
Graveling and/or bonding of pathways
Installation and annual inspection of playground and gym equipment
Drainage inspection and mapping
Creation of estate plans, to show the layout of the garden and surrounding houses as well as sea level markers and utility conduits
Installation of garden railings for improving security
Landscaping of new garden designs
Long-term management of garden trees, from annual pruning and Massaria checks to 50-year regeneration plans

Sample General Day-to-Day Duties:

Instructing and overseeing of contractors
Processing invoices
Production of annual budgets and forecasts
Production of quarterly and end of year accounts
Issuing garden rate invoices to freeholders, lessees or residents as determined by the garden Constitution / Act
Chasing arrears on garden rates and liaising with solicitors on non-payers
Issuing garden keys and collecting deposits from both residents and contractors
Access management and changing garden locks when required
Issuing Car Parking permits for roadway residents and ad-hoc contractors
Overseeing insurance renewals
Dealing with daily issues relating to the garden (children, dogs, antisocial behaviour etc)

If you would like to talk to us about how we could help you, or to discuss any of our services, please give us a call.

Alternatively you can email us your queries and we will respond asap.

Email us here

How We Operate

We are dedicated to providing the best possible service for our clients

Property management is not a regulated industry, but we have chosen to be regulated by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and are individually Members of the Institure of Residentail Property Managers (IRPM). This means that:

All of our processes have been reviewed by independent experts (and where we needed to improve, we did)
Our accounting practices are regulated and audited each year
We are bound by two separate professional codes of conduct (click here and here for details)
All of our staff are independently qualified as property managers.

We are registered for complaints and redress with the The Property Ombudsman.

Client Moneys and Invoices

Where we hold funds for a client, each client is given their own dedicated bank account and all funds are held by us as a Trustee or Agent.

Neither we nor the Bank (Barclays) are entitled to combine any of the accounts we hold, or to exercise any right of set off or counterclaim against money in that account in respect of any sum owed to it on any other account we manage. Any interest earned on the account is credited to that account and not to us.

We will pay invoices based on each client's preferred arrangement, and we do query any unexpected charges.

We practice double-entry bookkeeping, and each client account is reconciled every month.

Our Fees

For shared houses and buildings, we charge a fixed annual fee to each flat. For individual clients and Communal Gardens there is only one fee (still fixed).

Where appointed, we have separate charges for our Additional Services. We also charge for preparing:

Leaseholder Enquiry packs   £750 + VAT
Notices of Transfer   £150 + VAT
Notices of Charge   £150 + VAT
Licenses to Assign   £150 + VAT
Share Transfers   £175 + VAT
Replacement Share Certificate   £150 + VAT

We do not charge a percentage fee for any works or maintenance, and there are no hidden charges in our contracts.