LKP told the BBC R4 You and Yours consumer affairs programme today that professional self-regulation by property managers does not work.This was why former Labour minister Sally Keeble resigned as the ARMA regulator – a role that has been scrapped.In part this is an economy measure, as the organisation was also beset with legal costs leaving a £160,000 hole in the accounts after an ARMA member disputed the regulatory regime.You and Yours ran an interview with leaseholders at Blythe … [Read More...]
THE REASONS WHY …
Latest news
Sajid Javid has thought about leasehold property management and does not like what he sees …
Sajid Javid's speech came with a lot of schmoozing but was a devastating critique of modern property management by someone who has at last understood these issues By Sebastian O’KellyThe speech by Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, this morning to the ARMA conference came prefaced with such a soothing dose of syrup that for a while I feared being revisited by my breakfast. “I know you’re not the Rachman-esque ogres that some on the internet claim [Oh, dear. Is that us?]. I look around … [Read More...]
Dudley Joiner and Barry Weir named in Commons … and Roger Southam invited to retire
Controversial leasehold entrepreneur Dudley Joiner was named in the House of Commons today, and Roger Southam, chair of the Leasehold Advisory Service, was invited to retire.The remarks came from Sir Peter Bottomley in the debate on the Regulation of Property Agents.Sir Peter also named Barry Weir, a Sussex-based park home landlord who employed libel solicitors Carter Ruck to demand Sir Peter withdraw disobliging remarks made on BBC TV earlier this year.Dudley Joiner is the … [Read More...]
Pensioners tell Dudley Joiner to give them back their £27,000 sinking fund
Better Retirement Housing today reports how leaseholders in Chichester Court, a retirement site in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex have told property manager Dudley Joiner to return their £27,000 sinking fund.Mr Joiner won’t give the money back unless the directors of the Chichester Court Right To Manage Company Limited sign some form of indemnity agreement as he believes the company is illegal.He also accuses LKP of “repeated public harassment and regurgitation” by mentioning his seven-year … [Read More...]
John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust tells leaseholder it will ‘disinvest’ in doubling ground rents
Portfolio managed by the Tchenguiz interests The John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust has told a leaseholder that it will ‘disinvest’ in doubling ground rents, which were brought to its attention by ‘a lobbying group’ – LKP.Sean Greenwood, whose wife bought a Taylor Wimpey flat in Dudley, West Midlands, with doubling ground rent raised the issue that the John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust now owned the freehold through JLPPT Holdco 5 Limited.LKP met directors of John Lewis … [Read More...]
Circle Housing humiliated over £22,000 major works bills at Merton Priory knocked back to £3,500
Leaseholders escape paying out thousands as tribunal case collapsesLeaseholders have won an important section 20 victory against social landlord Circle Housing Merton Priory (CHMP) which was demanding £22,000 from each leaseholder.In the event, the leaseholders will pay less than half that sum.Circle Housing Merton Priory wanted to remove roofs and windows, remove asbestos and carry out major electrical work at the Watermeads Estate in Octavia Close, Mitcham, South West … [Read More...]
Labour MP Helen Hayes ‘disappointed’ by Sajid Javid’s response on leasehold scandal
Time for DCLG Select Committee to call in developers to demand details of the scale of the leasehold rip-offsLabour MP Helen Hayes is “disappointed” by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid’s response to the leasehold crisis.Ms Hayes, who is MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, was responding to Mr Javid’s presentation on Wednesday to the DCLG Select Committee, of which she is a member.She tells a constituent:“Yesterday we were questioning the CLG Ministers, including the Secretary of … [Read More...]
James Tuttiett: I have lost two buyers of my flat through ground rent scams. Can you hurry up changing my terms?
A leaseholder trying to sell a flat in Lightwater in Surrey has asked James Tuttiett, the CEO of E & J Capital Partners to hurry up with changing doubling ground rents to ones linked with RPI.So far Shelly Westbrooke has lost two buyers of her flat because of the lease terms at John Norman Grove.Fao James Tuttiett CEO E&J EstatesDear Mr Tuttiett ,I am writing to advise you that since trying to sell my flat at the above address , I have found that it comes under the 10 … [Read More...]
Ground rent scandal
E&J Capital Partners ‘compelled’ to sell freehold to Taylor Wimpey house to pensioner for £38,000 (plus £4,000 costs)
Ground rent speculators E&J Capital Partners were “compelled” to sell pensioner Trevor Nowell the freehold to his Taylor Wimpey leasehold house for £38,000. Once Mr Nowell, 79, began the enfranchisement process, the valuation of the property’s freehold was decided by the professional advisors employed for both sides (which Mr Nowell ended up paying for, as […]
Pensioner paid £38,000 for Taylor Wimpey freehold to ground rent speculators E&J Capital Partners
(… and he paid another £4,000 in fees) A 79-year-old pensioner in Clitheroe paid £38,000 to buy the freehold to his Taylor Wimpey leasehold house to ground rent speculators E&J Capital Partners. He also paid out another £4,000 in legal and other fees: his own, and E&J’s. Now he has been told by Taylor Wimpey […]
Has Taylor Wimpey done just enough to avoid being successfully sued?
Taylor Wimpey’s deal with Adriatic Land to vary doubling ground rents to those linked with RPI are the minimum it could do to prevent being sued. Extending the deal even to those who have bought these leases on resale – ie not directly from Taylor Wimpey – covers that issue as well. But one hitch […]
Taylor Wimpey and Long Harbour deal to defuse toxic lease scandal … after 11 months!
Taylor Wimpey and the anonymous speculators in the Long Harbour ground rent fund have agreed to vary double ground rent leases to ones linked to RPI, it was announced this afternoon. The announcement comes 11 months after LKP managed to get this issue to national attention. The deal has been extended by Long Harbour, whose […]
MailOnline forensically examines Taylor Wimpey couple stuck in leasehold house with £590pa to Adriatic Land
MailOnline features a couple who bought a £150,000 house off Taylor Wimpey who were promised the freehold at ten times the £295 annual ground rent. But now the price has soared and Andrea, 35, and Roi Millward, 30, at Speakman Gardens, Prescot, Merseyside, cannot afford the freehold. Evidence provided by MailOnline indicates an error may […]
Ground Rents Income Fund plc offers help to leaseholders … in order to keep this grisly show on the road
The publicly quoted Ground Rents Income Fund plc says it will help some leaseholders with doubling ground rents. The initiative is a desperate effort to get government off its back and to ensure speculation in the freeholds of ordinary people’s homes can continue. Its statement is here 11 per cent of the fund, which has […]
LKP guidance for responding to the government consultation on tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market
This article offers some tips on responding to the government consultation on “tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market”. It gives you links to some of the documents you might want to read and gives an explanation of some of the questions asked in the consultation as well as highlighting some of the issues you […]
Criticism over bumper pay bonuses for Persimmon and Berkeley bosses
By Sebastian O’Kelly Persimmon share prices have surged 30 per cent to £457.4 million in the first half of the year – boosted by rip-off leasehold houses and the taxpayer-funded Help To Buy scheme. It means Jeff Fairburn, the CEO of the company, is in line for an absurd £125 million bonus. Unlike Tony Pidgley, […]
Now Bovis says ‘Our houses are freehold’. (Gleeson’s always were …)
What’s the policy of the other housebuilders? Yet another plc housebuilder has decided that selling leasehold houses is bad idea: Bovis. It joins Taylor Wimpey in pulling out of this game. Gleeson Homes, of course, never got involved: What is the difference between Freehold and Leasehold? It may seem like technical legal language, but there […]
Commons Library’s excellent resume of leasehold problems will give MPs plenty of ideas for reform
The Commons library has done a superb job of spelling out the problems of leasehold. It is the first time we have seen a third party report into this sector with no regard to the disingenuous interventions from self-interested professionals, trade bodies, dubious “stakeholders” or compromised quangos. Its report, published yesterday and written by Wendy […]
The games they play
Martin Paine resigns from IRPM after leaseholder complaint
Following a complaint to the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) Martin Paine has chosen to resign his position as a member rather than face investigation. On several occasions in the last 18 months this site has reported on the exploits of Martin Paine, his FCA regulated wife, Ann Kirmond (Ref no MAK01110), and their […]
‘If I fail to offend anyone, I will do it next time,’ Bottomley tells appalled LEASE annual conference
Leasehold sector insiders were aghast at the address given by Sir Peter Bottomley on Wednesday at the Leasehold Advisory Service “annual conference”. The event was packed with surveyors, valuers, lawyers and property managing agents paying £350 a head to attend what has until now been the most important trade show of the sector. Earlier housing […]
Martin Paine ‘is a crook who is turning sleaze in leases into an art form’, MPs told
Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative, Worthing West) named the leasehold-gameplayer Martin Paine as a “crook” in the Commons yesterday. “We should not have to rely on the chance action of a campaigning charity such as LKP [the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership] or the Campaign Against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation—or a passing Member of Parliament, to get things put […]
Guardian reports the Blythe Court ground rent scandal
The Guardian newspaper has today reported the Blythe Court ground rent scandal that has left leaseholders with bills of up to £8,000 a year. In 95 years the ground rents can reach £8 million a year for a one-bedroom flat bought for £58,000, says the article, written by Guardian staff reporter Rupert Jones. It quotes […]
Martin Paine, embedded management companies, LKP … all raised in Queen’s speech debate
These issues were raised by Sir Peter Bottomley in the Queen’s Speech debate yesterday Let me turn to other issues that come up for Back Benchers. I pick up causes, one of which came about as a result of an incident in my constituency regarding leasehold, when some elderly, frail and poor people found themselves […]
ARMA MELTDOWN
The Property Ombudsman fines agent for selling house as ‘virtually freehold’. (Don’t worry ARMA members: it was only £200)
Annual Report: freehold vs. leasehold Whose responsibility is it anyway? This case summary looks at a tenure dispute – find out more about the complaint and the Ombudsman’s ruling after the agent claimed long leaseholds amounted to ‘the same thing’ as freehold. The buyer in this case explained that they told the agent that they […]
More farce than Blackadder’s court martial: ARMA claims its regulator ‘retired’
Self-regulation has failed at both ARMA and RICS ARMA has responded to Sally Keeble’s statement that she resigned owing to interference in her regulator’s role by declaring that the post was ‘retired’ instead. Further, ARMA says that the decision arose because ARMA only receives around eight complaints a year. It is astonishing that ARMA is […]
ARMA regulator Sally Keeble outlines five areas where statutory regulation is needed in leasehold
The former ARMA regulator Sally Keeble, who resigned her post last month claiming unacceptable interference in her independent role, outlines for LKP five areas where statutory regulation in leasehold is required. The full reasons for her resignation are given here In her article below, it is clear that Mrs Keeble – a Labour MP for […]
ARMA regulator Sally Keeble quit ‘after being blocked’ from ruling on Warwick Estates lift shaft fatality
… Regulation must have ‘sufficient independence and robustness to withstand industry pressures’ The former ARMA regulator Sally Keeble resigned from her post last month because she claims the trade body scrapped a regulatory case against Warwick Estates over a lift shaft fatality. Mrs Keeble, a Labour MP for 13 years and former leader of Southwark […]
ARMA’s self-regulation in disarray after member sues the organisation and Sally Keeble resigns
Self-regulation of the scandal-prone residential property management sector is in disarray after an ARMA member threatened to sue the trade body for tens of thousands of pounds. Separately, former Labour MP Sally Keeble has stepped down as the ARMA regulator having only accepted the post a year ago. Reports are reaching LKP that ARMA has […]
Philip Rainey QC: Reform of the law is a duty (and for landlord and tenant law it is overdue)
In an address to the ARMA conference last week, Philip Rainey QC (right) did nothing less than urge the whole-scale reform of landlord and tenant law that has provided him with a comfortable living. Although prefaced with the lawyerly proviso – “it should not be assumed that I agree with all or any of the […]
ARMA conference ‘worried’ that developers are exploiting new home owners
The annual conference of ARMA held yesterday in central London was the most rigorous and clear-eyed discussion of leasehold and its many defects yet held by a trade body in the sector. At one point in the proceedings, the audience of 550 managing agents, lawyers, senior civil servants and … two trustees of the Leasehold […]
Former Labour minister Sally Keeble is new ARMA regulator
@LKPleasehold @ARMAleasehold @FoPRA @LEASEonline – looking forward to working to improve standards for leaseholders & practice in the sector — Sally Keeble (@Sally_Keeble) July 29, 2016 Former New Labour minister Sally Keeble is to be the new ARMA regulator, after former housing minister Rt Hon Keith Hill, also a minister in the Blair governments, quits […]
Commonhold or leasehold, it still needs managing
The final paper presented last week at the LKP round table on commonhold came from Nigel Glen, the CEO of ARMA. Mr Glen confined himself to emphasising the need for leaseholders, or commonhold owners, who run their own blocks to be aware of the law and obligations of communal living. Mr Glen told the round […]
ARMA regulator’s sanctions against FirstPort ‘did not address seriousness of what took place’
The admonition delivered to FirstPort for attempting to sell off house managers’ flats has not satisfied complainant Alex Ellison. “I am, of course, pleased that you upheld my complaint and that you have imposed disciplinary sanctions on FirstPort,” she has written to the ARMA regulator Keith Hill. “… However, disciplinary sanctions alone do not seem to adequately […]
LEASE: Beyond repair?
Sector foxes warn that changing leasehold will be ‘dangerous’. But for whom?
The government now understands something that LKP has been saying for years: leasehold is a deeply flawed system. It is also a critical and growing part of the housing market in England and Wales. The Housing White Paper entitled “Fixing our broken housing market” launched in February 2017 made this very clear. This has come […]
Roger Southam silenced on LEASE website as blog is removed
The sector fights back … er, deploying LEASE chair Roger Southam The blog of Roger Southam, the controversial chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service, was removed this afternoon. The article was seen as an apologia of the existing leasehold system that has brought misery to tens of thousands of leasehold owners, particularly those in new-build […]
The sector fights back … er, deploying LEASE chair Roger Southam
A message from LEASE Chair Roger Southam – The Leasehold Advisory Service July 2017 It is great to see the two DCLG consultations launched and the opportunity to have open engagement to address the issues. In reality leasehold is not the evil thing that is being portrayed. Doubling ground rents and unreasonable administration fees are […]
Not the job of LEASE to warn ministers of leasehold houses scandal, Roger Southam tells BBC
Roger Southam, the controversial chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service, told the BBC today that it was not the quango’s job to alert ministers to the leasehold houses scandal. Mr Southam said that LEASE was not a lobbying organisation and that it was tasked with giving impartial advice to all in the sector. Asked […]
Motion of no confidence in Roger Southam as LEASE chair
DCLG stakeholders’ meeting for leaseholders told property manager chairman must go UPDATE: Roger Southam and Jim Fitzpatrick MP are being jointly interviewed on leasehold homes tomorrow on BBC R4 You & Yours 12.15 A motion of no confidence in Roger Southam, chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service, was proposed at the DCLG leasehold stakeholders’ meeting […]
News archive
Parliamentary group for leasehold and commonhold reform now has 120 members
Current number of members 120 + 5 friends Updates this month: 07/10/17 Andrew Rosindell MP joined 10/10/17 Gillian Keegan MP for Chichester joined 12/10/17 Afzal Khan MP for Manchester, Gorton joined 17/10/17 Emma Dent Coed MP for Kensington joined Listed below are the members of the All Party Parliamentary Group looking into Leasehold and […]
Rendall and Rittner buys Braemar Estates
… and Braemar Estates only manages 14% of the Ground Rents Income Fund plc LKP asked Braemar Estates for clarification of its relationship with the publicly quoted Ground Rents Income Fund plc. It owns some freeholds with doubling ground rents and has offered to transfer them to RPI. Ground Rents Income Fund plc offers help […]
Demo at First-Time Buyers show warns of developers’ leasehold rip-offs
Members of the National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group posed for photographs behind the iron bars of a prison cell to warn off would-be buyers of leasehold homes at the First Time Buyers show in Manchester on Saturday October 7. The demonstration aimed to increase awareness of the pitfalls of leasehold tenure to first time buyers. […]
Responses to the government consultation
LKP has asked a number of groups in the sector to provide copies of their submissions to the government consultation on “Tackling unfair practises in the leasehold market”. Many have been happy to assist, while other groups regard their submission as confidential. We’re also waiting for the submission from the House Builders Federation. We’re happy […]
Leasehold dystopia
It should come as not surprise that those earning their living from the leasehold sector look to defend the status quo in their replies to the government consultation on “Tackling unfair practises in the leasehold market”. However, when forced to accept that the worst excesses do in fact exist, many now point the finger of […]
What’s the probability that government leasehold statistics are still useless?
The government has just released another set of statistics on what they claim is the number of leasehold homes in England. The numbers are wrong and the Secretary of State and the Housing Minister should be asking, how on earth are they meant to develop housing policy when their civil servants still don’t know the […]
MPs tell government consultation: End leasehold houses. Scrap new ground rents. Ignore pleas for self-regulation. Ban Help To Buy on rip-off leaseholds
Self-regulation and codes of conduct have failed. Bring in commonhold and end the leasehold rip-offs. APPG pays “public tribute” to the work of LKP in revealing these abuses “LKP have helped hundreds of leaseholders keep their homes and continue to do so with very limited resources,” it says. Leasehold Sector ‘cannot be trusted’ All Party […]
Ground rent speculator in leasehold homes laments losses in FT
One does not wish to be unfeeling … but you would need a heart of stone not to laugh at the misery of ground rent punter David Stevenson in the FT (given the litany of miseries faced by leaseholders in terms of ground rents, permission fees, threats of forfeiture, David and Goliath battles in the […]
BBC Radio Manchester wades into the leasehold houses scandal
Excellent case studies and another disastrous public airing of Taylor Wimpey’s woes on BBC Radio Manchester earlier this week. Doubling ground rents, lucrative “permission” fees from freeholders and management charges for common parts to estates are all covered. The interviews are in two places: 7am-7.30am and 8am-8.30am Changes in Manchester, Alison Butterworth and Phil Trow […]
