Block and Property Management in Cornwall
Cornish blocks already under our management in Saltash and St Austell, on a fixed fee with no commission.
Across Cornwall we act as managing agent, providing block, estate and leasehold property management for residents' management companies, RTM companies and freeholders.
Parts of Truro, Falmouth, St Austell, Penzance and St Ives all fall in radon band 6, the highest on the national map. Since 1 April 2025 a second homes premium takes a furnished flat that is nobody's main home to 200 per cent of the standard bill, with no minimum period before it applies.
Proposals are for developments of 50 or more units. Smaller building? Talk to our team.
Cornish Blocks We Already Look After
These are developments in and around Cornwall that we manage now, with their own boards, budgets and contractors. Local trades can join our approved contractor network.
- Brunel Mews, three apartment blocks in Saltash, taken over from the previous managing agent
- Royal Albert Court, Saltash
- Rialto Court, Porthpean Road, St Austell, repainted in summer 2026
- Polmear Apartments, Charlestown, St Austell
Cornwall Council, Cornwall Fire and Rescue, South West Water
- Local authority
- Cornwall Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Cornwall Council Building Control
- Fire and rescue service
- Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- Setting
- Coastal
Page last updated . Sources: ONS Census 2021, accommodation type (TS044); Environment Agency long term flood risk; Environment Agency flood map for planning; Historic England, National Heritage List for England; UKHSA UK radon map; GOV.UK council tax premiums guidance.
Radon, Second Homes and Listed Consent Come First in Cornwall
Include Plant Rooms in Radon Measurement
UKHSA advises measurement where band 6 applies, and the map excludes basements and cellars, which should be treated as having an increased chance regardless of location. In a block we would include the plant room and undercroft in communal radon measurement.
ComplianceFlag the Second Homes Premium Early
The 100 per cent premium turns on how the flat is used, not on who owns it, so a buyer who keeps the flat as a second home pays it from completion. When responding to a leaseholder's sale enquiries we would draw attention to the premium position before exchange rather than after.
Leasehold managementCheck Article 4 by Address
Cornwall Council's Article 4 directions, including those on HMOs, are checked address by address. We would use the council's constraint checker or a written enquiry before handling any lease consent or alteration request.
ConsentsRegister Higher-Risk Buildings with the Regulator
For a higher-risk building in Cornwall the Building Safety Regulator, not the council, is the building control authority. We would handle registration and keep the block's building safety record current.
Building safetySecure Listed Consent Before Section 20
Cornwall Council records 12,664 listed buildings, and altering one in a way that affects its character without listed building consent is a criminal offence. For a listed block we would obtain consent before issuing the Section 20 specification.
Major works and Section 20Band 6 Radon in Five of the Main Towns
Parts of Truro, Falmouth, St Austell, Penzance and St Ives all fall in band 6 of 6, the highest on the national map. In that band more than 30 per cent of homes are estimated to reach the action level of 200 becquerels per cubic metre, and UKHSA advises measurement. Parts of Newquay are in band 5. Bands come from the UKHSA and British Geological Survey radon potential map.
Each kilometre square is classed by the highest potential found anywhere inside it, so a band is indicative rather than definitive. The map also excludes basements, cellars and underground sites at every band, which UKHSA says should be treated as having an increased chance regardless of location. In a block, that means the plant room and the undercroft should be included in radon measurement.
Only 12.8 Per Cent of Households in Flats
Cornwall is not a flatted county. At the 2021 Census 12.8 per cent of its 250,535 households were in flats or converted buildings, against 22.2 per cent across England. Blocks here are concentrated in the coastal towns rather than spread across the county.
Exposure Ranges from Tidal-Head Truro to Atlantic Newquay
Cornwall is a peninsula, and almost every town in it is within a few miles of open water. How exposed a particular block is varies sharply between the tidal-head towns such as Truro and the open Atlantic frontage at Newquay. For a block on an exposed frontage, salt shortens the life of render, metalwork and windows, and the reserve fund should allow for it.
Cornwall Council Leads on Local Flood Risk
Cornwall Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority for the county and publishes the local flood risk management strategy. It has completed community flood risk profiles for Bude, Bodmin, Hayle, Helston, Launceston and Liskeard. For a block in one of those towns, the profile is the first document to check before insurance renewal.
12,664 Listed Buildings, Most Densely in North East Cornwall
Cornwall has 145 conservation areas. The earliest recorded is Charlestown, designated in October 1967. For a block in one, external works need checking against conservation controls before they are specified.
Cornwall Council records 12,664 listed buildings in the county, with the greatest concentration in the north east. It is a criminal offence to demolish a listed building, or to alter or extend one in a way that affects its character, without listed building consent. For a listed block, consent must be in place before a works specification is issued.
Article 4 Is Checked Address by Address
Cornwall Council's Article 4 directions are checked address by address, through its interactive constraint checker or a written enquiry to the council, which is the reliable answer for a given address. The council confirms that HMO directions exist in Cornwall. There is no Article 4 direction anywhere in Cornwall covering holiday lets. Holiday letting is not a separate use class, so there is no permitted development right for a direction to remove, and whether letting a particular flat for holidays needs planning permission depends on the facts. For a block, any lease consent or alteration request should start with an address check.
An Adopted Local Plan Partly Treated as Out of Date
The adopted Cornwall Local Plan runs to 2030, but parts of it are now treated as out of date. The December 2024 framework raised Cornwall's annual housing need from 2,707 to 4,421. The council concluded it cannot meet that, and has said in terms that some local plan policies will be treated as out of date for decision making.
An interim policy position was adopted in March 2025, a further national framework came into force in August 2026, and the replacement plan for 2050 has no draft policies yet. Neighbourhood plan policies therefore carry more of the weight here, so a block's planning application should be checked against the local neighbourhood plan.
Second Home Premiums Turn on Use, Not Ownership
Cornwall charges a 100 per cent second homes premium from 1 April 2025, taking a furnished flat that is nobody's main home to 200 per cent of the standard bill. Unlike the empty homes premium, there is no minimum period before it applies. The empty escalator is 100 per cent past twelve months, brought forward from two years on 1 April 2024, 200 per cent past five years and 300 per cent past ten.
Two points matter to a block. The second homes premium turns on how a flat is used rather than who owns it, so a buyer who keeps the flat furnished as a second home pays it from completion, and a flat cannot be charged both premiums at once. Twelve month exceptions cover property actively marketed for sale or for letting as a main residence, and recently granted probate.
Unitary Quirks That Change How a Block Is Run
- Cornwall Council is a single unitary authority, so planning, building control (except for higher-risk buildings, which go to the Building Safety Regulator), housing enforcement and the fire and rescue service all sit with one body.
- Cornwall Council is itself the fire and rescue authority. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is a council service rather than a separate combined authority.
- Council building control site inspection teams work out of Camborne, Bodmin and Liskeard.
- The second homes premium attaches to the flat, not the owner, so a buyer inherits it on completion. It is worth establishing before exchange rather than after.
A Cornish Block's Start-Up Fee, from the Price List
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 how our block management fees work and what changing your managing agent involves.
ARMA ACE Awards 2022, Managing Agent of the Year (1,000 to 5,000 units). ISO 9001:2015 certified. Member of The Property Ombudsman. Google reviews.
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More Cornish Towns, and the One Thing to Know About Each
| Town | What sets it apart |
|---|---|
| Penzance | Behind the 1843 sea wall, Promenade flats meet band 6 radon and principal residence zoning. |
| St Ives | New open market homes tied to principal residence, and class 6 radon across the town. |
| Bodmin | Six flood warning areas, every one of them strung along the Bodmin Town Leat. |
| Bude | Atlantic-facing blocks, two rivers under flood warning, and a £1.45 million Crescent scheme. |
| Camborne | A World Heritage mining landscape over the town centre, and no soakaways over old workings. |
| Fowey | Top radon band over most of the town, and quay streets that flooded in 2014. |
| Hayle | Lower town drains go tide locked in storms, inside a World Heritage port. |
| Helston | Cober flood risk on the eastern bank, cut from 20 to 1 per cent a year. |
Show all 21 townsShow fewer
| Town | What sets it apart |
|---|---|
| Launceston | Seven Grade I buildings, three critical drainage areas and no neighbourhood plan. |
| Liskeard | Top-band radon almost everywhere, yet only a river alert touches the town. |
| Looe | Harbour wave action, regular business flooding, and a proposed tidal barrier not yet built. |
| Mevagissey | Floods from the sea and the stream, and a harbour listed like its church. |
| Padstow | Tidal Camel estuary flooding, class 4 radon over 94 per cent, and Prideaux Place's listed grounds. |
| Penryn | Penryn's own waterfront moves from hold the line to managed realignment after the first epoch. |
| Perranporth | Perranporth has no conservation area, and most of its flood risk comes from its streams. |
| Porthleven | Waves overwhelmed the harbour defences in 2014, and radon is class 6 everywhere. |
| Redruth | Mine workings make infiltration drainage unsuitable, and a World Heritage mining district takes in the centre. |
| St Agnes | Mine workings beneath the settlement, inside the Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Site. |
| St Just | An Article 4 so wide that painting a never-painted exterior needs permission. |
| Torpoint | No conservation area at all, and radon mostly at class 2 across the town. |
| Wadebridge | At the tidal limit of the Camel, with flood zone 3 over 11.6 per cent. |
Areas with Their Own Page in Cornwall
| Area | From Plymouth |
|---|---|
| Block management in St Austell | 40 miles |
| Block management in Newquay | 51 miles |
| Block management in Truro | 56 miles |
| Block management in Falmouth | 67 miles |
| Block management in Saltash | Near our office |
Block Management Services in Cornwall
For a Cornish RMC, RTM company or freeholder, we take on the service charge budget and year-end accounts, buildings insurance renewals and claims, the fire risk assessment and radon record, Section 20 consultation for major works, and repairs through our approved contractors. A property manager inspects each block formally every three months and reports to the board, with extra visits as needed.
What Cornish Directors Ask Us
Can a Plymouth-Based Agent Manage Our Block in Cornwall?
Yes. We already manage Brunel Mews and Royal Albert Court in Saltash, Rialto Court in St Austell and Polmear Apartments in Charlestown. Each block has a formal inspection by its property manager every three months, with further visits when contractors or residents need them. Meetings can be at your building or, by appointment, in Truro.
Can Cornwall Restrict Holiday Lets Through Article 4?
Not at present. There is no Article 4 direction anywhere in Cornwall covering holiday lets. Holiday letting is not a separate use class, so there is no permitted development right for a direction to remove, and whether letting a particular flat for holidays needs planning permission depends on the facts. For a block, any lease consent or alteration request should start with an address check.
How Do Empty Home Premiums Work on a Flat in Cornwall?
The empty homes premium is 100 per cent after twelve months, brought forward from two years on 1 April 2024, rising to 200 per cent after five years and 300 per cent after ten. A flat cannot be charged the empty and second homes premiums at once.
Is the Cornwall Local Plan Still Current?
Partly. It runs to 2030, but after the December 2024 framework raised Cornwall's annual housing need from 2,707 to 4,421, the council said some local plan policies will be treated as out of date. An interim policy position was adopted in March 2025 and the replacement plan for 2050 has no draft policies yet, so neighbourhood plan policies carry more weight here.
Bring Your Cornish Block to Us, Just Across the Tamar.
A free, no-obligation proposal, written so it can be circulated to a board.
Our Truro Block Management trading name has a business address at Penstraze Business Centre, Truro, TR4 8PN, for meetings by appointment; the team works from our staffed Plymouth office.