Service charge management at the dawning of the age of the professional statement
ISSN: 0263-7472
Article publication date: 27 October 2020
Issue publication date: 24 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides a snapshot analysis on the state of service charge management at the point in which its regulatory framework by RICS changed from a voluntary code of practice to a mandatory professional statement.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of a unique eight-year longitudinal study of service charge statements and practice (2010–2017). Because of the confidential nature of such business-sensitive information, this is a priceless study of real-world practice over such a long period and is able to illustrate both annual compliance and the year-on-year changes. Given this, it is recognised that data are skewed in favour of compliance because they are derived from an actively managed portfolio.
Findings
The results continue to illustrate long-running problems of non-compliance with “required” metrics. Given the inherent bias in the data, this is especially difficult to excuse. The paper also analyses the results in the light of the new RICS professional statement, which requires mandatory compliance. Whilst some of the metrics are advisory, there remain questions over how RICS might realistically enforce so many practitioners to change their existing performance and how willing the institution might be to actually prosecute failure. It also revisits the issue of institutionalised benchmarking of standards. Intriguingly, there are islands of almost perfect compliance, which offers an interesting contrast and raises further research questions on why some practitioners provide such exemplary work.
Research limitations/implications
The data are derived from the clients of a UK property management consultancy. This does preclude any randomness to the sampling. However, the richness of the data and the methodology adopted provide valid data.
Originality/value
This work offers both unique data and an eight-year longitudinal analysis, but also a timely comparison with the requirements within a new RICS professional statement. This shift in regulatory regime reinforces the value of the work.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Retraction notice: The publisher of Property Management wish to retract the article “Service charge management at the dawning of the age of the professional statement” by T.S. Eccles, which appeared in Volume 39, Issue 2, (2021). It had come to our attention that the author did not seek formal permission from Bellrock Property & Facilities Management Limited, the legal owner of data utilised in this paper. The publishers of the journal and the author sincerely apologize to the readers and to Bellrock Property & Facilities Management Limited.
Citation
Eccles, T.S. (2021), "Service charge management at the dawning of the age of the professional statement", Property Management, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 180-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-02-2020-0011
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited