Share of freehold
Each flat owner in Lauderdale Mansions South owns a share in the freehold company Lauderdale Mansions (South) Ltd, which also manages the building.
The day-to-day work of running the building is delegated to the estate manager and his team, led by a full-time site manager.
The freehold property includes lofts above most of the top floor apartments, the basement storage areas, the rear and front gardens and the resident porter's flat. The 23 loft spaces were valued in April 2009 at between £2.9 million and £5.4 million as extensions of the top floor flats below. No valuations have yet been done of the loft properties as separate flats.
The directors hold monthly board meetings on the third wednesday of the month to monitor progress on the maintenance of the building and gardens, and take policy decisions on future developments. The minutes of board meetings are made available to shareholders, and shareholders can also attend the meetings as observers.
Every year the flat owners elect the company's directors on a rotating basis. The company has developed its own 'free and fair' elections process, which includes a secret ballot of shareholders and a first-past-the-post vote when there are more candidates than positions available.
Lauderdale Mansions (South) Ltd is believed to be the only residential property management company in the country to have such an election process set out in its articles of association, along with other rules for the disclosure of management information.
Copies of the annual accounts, minutes of Board meetings and AGMs/EGMs, articles of association and conflicts of interest policy for Lauderdale Mansions (South) Ltd can be obtained from the company's own website: