Date of issue: 26th March 2003

Accountants Join Specialist Property Management Association

A Birmingham firm of Chartered Accountants has been elected to the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) and is the first specialist from outside the field to join.

Clement Keys, Birmingham has been admitted into membership of the ARHM on the basis of its expertise in residential property auditing and, specifically, the skills and experience of partner Gavin Whitehouse.

The Association of Retirement Housing Managers is committed to the development of high standards and ethics in the management of private retirement homes and sheltered housing. It represents 54 organisations which collectively manage 79,000 properties throughout the UK.

The ARHM also provides input into national training initiatives, including the Foundation Course in Residential Block Management, and worked in conjunction with the Centre for Sheltered Housing Studies (CSHS) on its Leasehold Scheme Managers training course. The Association also consults on legislation reforms and has put forward a series of recommendations regarding proposed changes to the Leasehold Reform Act.

All members of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers work to a code of practice which has been adopted as the benchmark for Leasehold Valuation Tribunals in the management of retirement leasehold properties."We are delighted to be invited to join the Association of Retirement Housing Managers and look forward to working with members to maintain high standards and technical knowledge within the sector," said Gavin Whitehouse.

Clement Keys is already actively involved with both of the UK's leading property managers' associations. The firm is a member of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), whose members manage the day-to-day running and maintenance of an estimated 1.5 million private leasehold flats throughout England
and Wales.

Last July Gavin Whitehouse was accepted into membership of the Institute of
Residential Property Management (IRPM), a professional association which supports individuals working in the management of residential properties, especially leasehold block accommodation.