Block Management in Torbay
Converted flats run at 2.7 times the England rate across the bay.
Across Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, 33 miles from Plymouth, we act as managing agent, providing block, estate and leasehold management for RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders. Torbay's flats are unusually often conversions, with 9.3 per cent of households in a converted or shared house, and a converted block can be a section 257 HMO. Radon varies sharply too, from band 2 at Paignton to band 6 at Brixham.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Torbay
Check Section 257 HMO Status
A converted block in Torbay can be a section 257 house in multiple occupation carrying the 2007 management regulations, even though the council licenses no such scheme. We would establish the status at handover and keep the compliance record on that basis.
ComplianceMeasure Radon Block by Block, Not Bay-Wide
Brixham returns band 6, Torquay band 4 and Paignton band 2. Because a band is indicative and the map excludes basements, for each block we would recommend radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas rather than relying on a bay-wide figure.
ComplianceFlag Empty Flat Council Tax Charges
Since 1 April 2024 a Torbay flat empty and substantially unfurnished for twelve months carries a 200 per cent council tax charge, and a sale does not reset the clock. We would flag this when handling lease consents and sales enquiries.
Leasehold managementInsure Blocks on Tidal Frontages Accurately
Paignton town centre, Preston sea front, Goodrington and Brixham town centre are named at risk from tidal flooding, with Torre Abbey and Livermead at risk from waves overtopping. We would give insurers an accurate position and handle claims.
InsuranceManaging a Block in Torbay at a Glance
- Local authority
- Torbay Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Torbay Council Building Control
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- From our Plymouth office
- Approx. 33 miles by road, under an hour
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in Torbay 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 changing your managing agent.
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A Statutory Harbour with 22 Miles of Coastline
Torbay Council records that Tor Bay is a statutory harbour with 22 miles of coastline and 16 square miles of open sea inside its limits, containing the three enclosed harbours of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The inshore coastline is a Marine Conservation Zone and the area is the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark. For a block on the bay frontages, external metalwork and coatings should be specified for marine exposure.
The measurable part of marine exposure is corrosion. A high-salinity coastal atmosphere falls in category C5 or CX under ISO 9223, where unprotected steel can lose roughly 50 to 200 micrometres in a year. In practice that means the metalwork on a Torbay block sets the inspection interval, and the reserve fund follows the inspections rather than a standard cycle.
Grand Villas Made Torbay a Conversions Bay
Nearly 30 per cent of Torbay's 62,995 households were in flats at the 2021 Census. The striking figure is the conversions: 9.3 per cent of households were in a converted or shared house, 2.7 times the England rate, and 1.6 per cent in a commercial building, double it. The council traces this to the grand villas and mansions built for visiting gentry from the Georgian period onwards. For a converted block, leases, demises and compartmentation need checking at handover.
The Whole Bay Is a Critical Drainage Area
The whole of Torbay is a Critical Drainage Area, which makes the council's drainage team a statutory planning consultee on flood risk and surface water drainage for every development. The council's strategic flood risk assessment names Paignton town centre, Preston sea front, Goodrington and Brixham town centre as at risk from tidal flooding. It adds Torre Abbey and Livermead to the list at risk from waves overtopping defences. Where block works amount to development, that consultation needs allowing for, and blocks on the named frontages need their tidal exposure disclosed to insurers.
865 Listed Buildings Across 24 Conservation Areas
Torbay has 24 conservation areas: 16 in Torquay, four in Paignton and four in Brixham. Most date from the 1970s and 1980s, with eight designated in the 1970s and thirteen in the 1980s. A block in any of them needs its external works checked against conservation area controls.
Torbay Council records 865 listed buildings in the bay, 96 per cent of them Grade II, along with 13 scheduled monuments and six registered parks and gardens. Listed status is worth confirming before external works to any older block.
Four Radon Bands Separate Brixham and Paignton
Radon potential across the bay varies widely, and a bay-wide assumption is wrong at both ends. At the centre of each town, Brixham is in band 6 of 6, the highest on the national map, at more than 30 per cent of homes reaching the action level. Torquay is in band 4 at 5 to 10 per cent, and Paignton in band 2 at 1 to 3 per cent. Four bands separate two towns a few kilometres apart in the same council area. A band is indicative rather than definitive, because each kilometre square takes the highest potential found anywhere inside it, and the map excludes basements and cellars at every band. For each block, radon measurement in ground-floor and below-ground communal areas is the reliable check.
Neither Article 4 Area Is an HMO Control
Torbay has exactly two Article 4 areas, Churston in Brixham and Polsham in Paignton, and both are conservation-area controls on external alterations. Neither is an HMO control, and Torquay has neither. A bay-wide HMO direction was resolved in principle at council in May 2012, but only on condition that enforcement resources were available, and it was never made. The Regulation 19 plan proposes a direction limited to Community Investment Areas, which is a proposal and not a control. HMO licensing across the bay is the mandatory regime only, with no additional or selective scheme. For a block, Article 4 matters only for external alterations in Churston and Polsham.
Height Policy Follows the Prevailing Character Area
Building heights are governed by policy DE4, which makes the prevailing height of the character area the default and requires a design or socio-economic case to exceed it. The emerging plan restates this with the Building Safety Act in view. Under that Act a residential building is higher-risk if it is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys, with two or more residential units. The plan also notes that the development industry has questioned the viability of taller residential schemes outside key waterfront locations. The same plan proposes a floor-area test on conversion: family houses up to around 110 square metres would be resisted for subdivision into small flats unless a mixed and balanced community case is made. Each block's height and storey count should be checked against the higher-risk building test.
An Empty Flat Reaches 200 Per Cent After a Year
Torbay Council applies a 100 per cent premium to a vacant and furnished property, which is how it defines a second home, from 1 April 2025. Separately, from 1 April 2024 the threshold for the long-term empty premium fell from two years to one, so a flat empty and substantially unfurnished for twelve months now carries a 200 per cent charge, rising to 300 per cent after five years and 400 per cent after ten. The council is explicit that the clock runs from the first day the flat is unoccupied and that a change of ownership does not break the period, so an empty flat sold part-way through carries its history to the buyer.
Four New Devon Unitaries Are Due by April 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. Torbay Council remains the unitary authority until then.
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.
What Else Changes About Managing a Block in Torbay
- A converted block here can be a section 257 house in multiple occupation carrying the 2007 management regulations even though the council licenses no such scheme.
- Radon potential runs from 3 to 5 per cent in TQ2 to more than 30 per cent in TQ5, a difference that changes what protective measures apply.
| Area | Local authority | From Plymouth |
|---|---|---|
| Block management in Paignton | Torbay Council | 30 miles |
| Block management in Torquay | Torbay Council | 33 miles |
| Block management in Brixham | Torbay Council | 34 miles |
Neighbourhoods and Districts We Cover Around Torbay
Babbacombe, St Marychurch, Wellswood, Chelston, Livermead, Preston, Goodrington, Churston, Galmpton, Cockington, Maidencombe, Watcombe.
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Torbay Questions
Is Torbay Bringing in HMO Planning Controls?
Not currently. Neither Article 4 area, Churston in Brixham and Polsham in Paignton, is an HMO control. A bay-wide HMO direction was resolved in principle in May 2012, conditional on enforcement resources, and never made. The Regulation 19 plan proposes a direction limited to Community Investment Areas, which is a proposal only. HMO licensing is the mandatory regime only.
Does Torbay's Drainage Designation Affect Block Works?
The whole of Torbay is a Critical Drainage Area, which makes the council's drainage team a statutory planning consultee on flood risk and surface water drainage for every development. Where block works amount to development, that consultation needs to be allowed for in the programme from the start.
Will the Higher-Risk Building Regime Apply to a Torbay Block?
Only if the block meets the higher-risk test: at least 18 metres high or at least seven storeys, with two or more residential units. Policy DE4 makes the prevailing height of the character area the default, requiring a design or socio-economic case to exceed it, and the emerging plan restates this with the Building Safety Act in view. We would check each block's height and storey count against the test at handover.
Is the Council for Torbay Changing?
Yes. Reorganisation was decided in July 2026, with an April 2028 target subject to Parliament approving the order. The lease obligations do not change; the authority you file with does.
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