Block Management in Plymouth
73 buildings of 18 metres or more, eleven HMO Article 4 neighbourhoods, and over 60 kilometres of coast.
From our head office in Plymouth, we provide block, estate and leasehold management for residents' management companies, RTM companies and freeholders across the city. The council records 73 buildings of 18 metres or more, about 56 believed to be higher-risk, and an HMO Article 4 Direction covers eleven neighbourhoods. Radon potential runs from 1 to 3 per cent in PL2 to 10 to 30 per cent in PL3, PL4, PL7 and PL9.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Plymouth
Register Higher-Risk Buildings with the Regulator
The council records about 56 buildings in Plymouth believed to meet the higher-risk description, where building control sits with the Building Safety Regulator. For a block of 18 metres or more we would confirm registration and keep the compliance record current.
Building safetyPrepare for Joint High Rise Building Team Inspections
The council's High Rise Building Team combines environmental health, fire safety and building control specialists with Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. We would commission fire risk assessments and keep records ready for an inspection under both regimes.
Fire risk assessmentsReview Licensing in Converted Blocks
In Mutley, 37.8 per cent of households live in a converted or shared house, inside the HMO Article 4 area, and the council warns a converted block may need multiple licences. We would review licensing status alongside subletting consents.
Leasehold managementInsure for the Named Tidal Risk Areas
The Barbican, Turnchapel, Hooe and Oreston have the lowest standard of tidal protection in the council's strategy. For a block there we would disclose the exposure when placing buildings insurance and handle any claim.
InsuranceManaging a Block in Plymouth at a Glance
- Local authority
- Plymouth City Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Plymouth City Council Building Control, or the Building Safety Regulator for a higher-risk building
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in Plymouth to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
About 56 of 73 Tall Buildings Are Higher-Risk
Plymouth City Council's own High Rise Building Team policy records that the city has 73 buildings of 18 metres or more, of which about 56 are believed to meet the higher-risk building description, and around 10,000 buildings of 11 metres or more. The High Rise Building Team is a joint council and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service team combining environmental health, fire safety and building control specialists.
Converted Flats Run at Double the England Share
At the 2021 Census about a quarter of Plymouth's 114,558 households were in flats: 16.2 per cent in a purpose-built block and 7.5 per cent part of a converted or shared house. That converted share is more than double the England figure. It is very unevenly spread. Stonehouse including Millbay and Royal William Yard is 85.5 per cent flats and the City Centre, Barbican and Sutton Harbour 83.7 per cent. Devonport, Mount Wise and Morice Town is 66.6 per cent flats, while Plympton Chaddlewood is 1.4 per cent. Converted houses need clear lease plans for shared structure and services, and a check on HMO licensing where flats are let.
Developments We Manage in Plymouth
These are real buildings in our care, not a coverage list. Each one is set out in more detail, with photographs, on our property experience page.
- Ocean Crescent, around 122 apartments in the city centre, overlooking The Crescent
- Finch Close, 38 apartments, PL3
- Elm Court, 12 apartments, PL4
- Ingleside, 8 apartments off Wilderness Road, PL3
- Leeward House, a contemporary waterfront development run by its own RTM company
- Discovery Wharf, waterfront apartments on North Quay, Sutton Harbour, with a residents' pool
- Harbourside Court, Hawkers Avenue, Sutton Harbour
- Admiralty Row East, 18 apartments in a former MOD building at Mount Wise, PL1
- The Gardens, brick apartment blocks on Stuart Road
Block Management Across Plymouth
Plymouth is not one market. The parts of the city differ enough in what they were built as, and when, that the management questions change from one to the next.
- Stonehouse, Millbay and Royal William Yard
- 85.5 per cent of households in flats at the 2021 Census, the highest share in the city, and the highest share of homes in converted non-residential buildings. Two conservation areas cover it, and Royal William Yard is one of the city's five key tidal flood defence locations.
- City Centre, Barbican and Sutton Harbour
- 83.7 per cent flats. The Barbican conservation area dates from 1967, the City Centre from 2022. This is one of the three areas with the greatest number of properties at tidal flood risk and among those with the lowest standard of protection.
- Devonport, Mount Wise and Morice Town
- 66.6 per cent flats. The conservation area was adopted in 1999 and extended in 2007. Tidal flood risk is recorded at the Torpoint Ferry slipway.
- Mutley
- 37.8 per cent of households in a converted or shared house, the highest such share in the city and more than ten times the England figure, and inside the HMO Article 4 area.
- Plymstock, Hooe and Oreston
- Low-density and low-flat, but Hooe, Oreston and Turnchapel are all named among the areas with the lowest standard of tidal flood protection, and Oreston and Hooe among those with defence assets in the poorest condition.
- Derriford and Estover
- 13.1 per cent flats and almost all of it purpose-built rather than converted. Outside every conservation area and outside the Article 4 area.
Over 60 Kilometres of Coastline from Tamerton Lake to Jennicliff
Plymouth City Council records over 60 kilometres of coastline from Tamerton Lake to Jennicliff Bay, taking in the Tamar and Plym estuaries and the Sound frontage. Blocks along that frontage face salt-laden air, which shortens the life of metalwork, render and window frames and should be reflected in maintenance cycles.
Metalwork is where coastal exposure shows up first and costs most. The standards put a high-salinity coastal atmosphere in category C5-M, losing over 80 micrometres of steel in year one against 1.3 to 25 inland, so railings, balustrades and fixings on a Plymouth block are surveyed more often and the reserve fund is modelled on the findings.
Barbican, Marsh Mills and Stonehouse Carry Most Tidal Risk
The council's Local Flood Risk Management Strategy names the Barbican at Sutton Harbour, Marsh Mills and Stonehouse as the areas with the greatest number of properties at tidal flood risk. Millbay, parts of Union Street, Hooe, Oreston, the Torpoint Ferry slipway at Devonport, Embankment Road and Laira, West Hoe, Stonehouse Pool, Royal William Yard and Little Ernesettle are also at risk. The strategy names the Barbican, Turnchapel, Hooe and Oreston as having the lowest standard of protection. It names Embankment Road, the Hoe, Oreston and Hooe as having defence assets in the poorest condition. The Environment Agency has identified most of the urban area as a Critical Drainage Area. For blocks in the named areas, tidal exposure should be disclosed at each insurance placement, and drainage belongs on the inspection list across the city.
The Most Twentieth Century Listed Buildings in the Country
15 conservation areas, including the Barbican designated in 1967, Plympton St Maurice in 1968, the Hoe, Mannamead, Millfields, Tamerton Foliot and Turnchapel in 1977, Stoke in 1985, Devonport and Adelaide Street in 1999, Union Street in 2002, Ebrington Street in 2008 and the City Centre in 2022. For a block in any of them, external works such as windows, doors or roofing need a planning check before they are specified.
Plymouth City Council states that the city has the highest number of twentieth century listed buildings in the country, and that its City Centre conservation area is the first post-war city centre conservation area in England. A twentieth century block may itself be listed, so its status should be checked before windows, cladding or other external works are specified.
Four Postcode Districts Reach 10 to 30 Per Cent
Radon potential varies sharply across the city. On the national map, the kilometre squares at the centre of the PL3, PL4, PL7 and PL9 postcode districts fall in the 10 to 30 per cent band. PL6 is at 5 to 10, PL1 and PL5 at 3 to 5 and PL2 at 1 to 3. Above 10 per cent is the BR 211 threshold for full protective measures rather than basic ones. Blocks in the higher districts should have radon measured in ground-floor flats and communal areas, and new building work there may need full protective measures.
Small HMO Conversions Need Permission in Eleven Neighbourhoods
An Article 4 Direction in force since 14 September 2012 removes the permitted development right to change a dwellinghouse to a small house in multiple occupation across eleven named neighbourhoods: Beacon Park and Pennycross, the City Centre, the East End, Efford, Hartley and Mannamead, Higher Compton, Lipson and Laira, Mount Gould, Mutley and Greenbank, Peverell, and Stoke and Stonehouse. The council also warns that in a converted, non-purpose-built block multiple licences may be required.
Plymouth Faces a Four-Council Reorganisation by 2028
On 16 July 2026 the Secretary of State decided to reorganise local government across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay into four unitary councils, replacing Devon County Council and its eight districts. Elections to the new councils are due in May 2027 and they are to be implemented by April 2028, through a Structural Changes Order subject to Parliamentary approval. Until then the existing county and district structure stands.
The obligations in the lease and in statute do not change. What changes is the body an application goes to and the authority that enforces housing standards, so compliance records and planning history need to be in order before the transfer rather than after it.
Tribunal Decisions on Blocks in Plymouth
Published First-tier Tribunal decisions on named developments here, each read in full. They show what the tribunal expects of whoever runs a block in this area.
| Development | Issue | Decided |
|---|---|---|
| Chaddlewood House, Clement Road | Right to manage | 22 April 2026 |
| 125 King Street | Section 20 consultation | 24 April 2026 |
| 96 and 146 Rothesay Gardens | Service charge | 26 February 2025 |
| Evolution Cove, Durnford Street, Stonehouse | Section 20 consultation | 24 December 2024 |
| 96 and 146 Rothesay Gardens | Service charge | 16 January 2024 |
| The Victoria, 80 Paradise Road | Appointment of a manager | 28 April 2023 |
| Discovery Wharf, 15 North Quay | Section 20 consultation | 6 July 2022 |
| 79 Charles Cross Apartments, Constantine Street | Service charge | 28 February 2022 |
Neighbourhoods and Districts We Cover Around Plymouth
Plympton, Plymstock, Devonport, Stonehouse, Millbay, Royal William Yard, The Barbican, Sutton Harbour, Mutley, Peverell, Mannamead, Hartley, Derriford, Estover, Eggbuckland, Crownhill, Southway, Whitleigh, Honicknowle, North Prospect, Keyham, Ford, Lipson, Laira, Elburton, Tamerton Foliot, Saltash Passage.
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Plymouth Questions
Is Our Block in Plymouth a Higher-Risk Building?
The council's High Rise Building Team policy records 73 buildings of 18 metres or more in the city, of which about 56 are believed to meet the higher-risk building description, and around 10,000 buildings of 11 metres or more. For a higher-risk building, building control sits with the Building Safety Regulator rather than Plymouth City Council.
Does the HMO Article 4 Direction Affect Flats in Our Block?
The direction, in force since 14 September 2012, removes the right to change a dwellinghouse to a small house in multiple occupation across eleven neighbourhoods, including the City Centre, Mutley and Greenbank, Peverell, and Stoke and Stonehouse. The council also warns that in a converted, non-purpose-built block multiple licences may be required.
Which Parts of Plymouth Have the Weakest Tidal Flood Defences?
The council's Local Flood Risk Management Strategy names the Barbican, Turnchapel, Hooe and Oreston as having the lowest standard of protection, and Embankment Road, the Hoe, Oreston and Hooe as having defence assets in the poorest condition. The Barbican at Sutton Harbour, Marsh Mills and Stonehouse have the greatest number of properties at tidal flood risk.
Is My Building in Plymouth a Higher-Risk Building?
It is if it is 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units, in which case it must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
Is the Council for Plymouth Changing?
Yes. Reorganisation was decided in July 2026 and takes effect by April 2028. The lease obligations do not change; the authority you file with does.
Nearby Areas
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