Frequently Asked Questions

D&GBM have 40 staff. There are five teams, each comprising an Associate who also acts as Team Head, Property Manager, Client Accountant and Property Assistant.

This structure ensures that your building has comprehensive and continued resource and support.

We have no call centres and you will always have named individuals to speak to.

Payment of service charges can be made by cheque, standing order, direct debit or bank transfer.

The on-line portal allows leaseholders to view copy service charge invoices and details of transactions on their individual account.

It also allows them to update contact information and method of receiving invoices, report maintenance issues, along with access to extensive information on their building, including sample leases, consultation notices, year- end accounts and insurance documents.

All clients also have the benefit of accessing the secure Directors Portal, which provides daily updated reports on bank balances, debtors and building expenditure.

Service charge demands are typically sent four weeks prior to the due date.

Final reminders are generated 14 days after the due date, and a 7 day letter (for which an administration fee is levied to the individual) 21 days after the due date.

We would then seek client approval to refer the leaseholder concerned to solicitors/debt collectors as appropriate.

The management fee will depend on a number of variables, including number of units in the building, any employed on-site staff, complexity of any communal services etc.

Please refer to the details in the ‘Contact Us’ section in order to request a proposal for management.

A menu of our ancillary charges is available on request.

Service charges are levied for the maintenance and management of the building.

The lease for your property will stipulate what you are obliged to contribute to, how this is calculated, and when it should be paid.

Service charges are normally paid to D&GBM and held on behalf of your Landlord or Resident Management Company. Monies are held in client accounts as required by statute.

This will include any reserve fund contributions held for future major works projects planned for the building.

We offer a comprehensive out of hours service, which retains details of all contracts at the building (lifts, boilers etc) in order that the most suitable contractor can be instructed to attend.

Email notification of the initial incident and updates are sent to the key personnel on the account so they are kept abreast of the situation.

D&GBM utilise a secure on-line fire safety management system which ensures we can upload new Fire Risk Assessments, track required actions and close these on completion.

This facility also allows for an on-line library so all relevant documents are stored securely.

We do have a complaints procedure which is a requirement under our membership of ARMA and RICS, and is available here. We are also members of The Property Ombudsman, details of which are contained within the procedure.

We have no affiliation to any contractor which ensures we can always select the most appropriate firm to do the work.

We do however require that all contractors used on the portfolio are Safecontractor members, which ensures that they have the necessary insurances and accreditations to do the job.

There is a fee for registration with Safecontractor, paid directly to them by the contractor.

We do not employ in- house surveyors but instead use a panel of chartered surveying firms across the portfolio.

This arrangement ensures we can maintain good and longstanding relationships with these firms whilst ensuring that there is an appropriate professional relationship in place.

We are of course also happy to work with clients own surveyors if preferred.

In accordance with the statutory requirements (Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002) all client funds are retained in designated ringfenced bank accounts.

Under the FSCS scheme, funds held are protected up to £75,000 per leaseholder.

All bank accounts are interest bearing with the interest credited to the fund in question.

We can also offer term accounts which provide more attractive rates of interest if funds are not required in the short term.