Following the conviction of fraudster Simon van Houten, 31, the Rendall and Rittner managing agent who will be jailed for stealing £122,000 next Thursday, Baroness Gardner of Parkes is calling for leaseholder funds to be protected.
On Monday in the House of Lords, she is to ask the Government to introduce a transparent scheme, similar to the deposit protection scheme in short-term tenancies, to protect monies paid by leaseholders and held by managing agents.
The Van Houten case clearly illustrates the vulnerability of leaseholder funds held under no regulatory supervision by managing agents. Although none of the money was recovered, Rendall and Rittner “immediately reimbursed the small number of clients involved”.
Van Houten used a bogus company to invoice Rendall and Rittner for repair and maintenance work that was never carried out.
He operated the scam for more than two years, until November 30 2010, before suspicions were raised – initially by leaseholder Susan Stuckey, see below – about the massive bills.
Baroness Parkes prompted the Lords debate on leasehold reform last April, following representations by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.
Related posts:
Executive guilty of plundering £122,000 from managing agents Rendall and Rittner
‘Secret ombudsman schemes are so much better for leasehold than licensing managing agents,’ says DCLG
We won’t protect leaseholders’ funds even after Van Houten’s theft because … that was the last government’s idea
Baroness Gardner raises RTM in the Lords
Baroness Gardner urges government to back commonhold
Well done to Susan Stuckey. Once again we see a resident leaseholder questioning and investigating something she felt did not add up but in the process being castigated for daring to have a ” negative view of Simon”. I trust Susan has received a full apology from Mr Rittner!
Unfortunately although a call for funds to be protected is welcome it will not solve the problem. Until leaseholders are considered to be important and listened to instead of being treated as complete idiots nothing will change.
Since my quest to ‘question and investigate’ began in 2005 I have found more and more ‘connected’ people,companies and regulatory bodies working against leaseholders. Although my own personal situation has improved by going RTM there are still many unanswered questions and I would welcome a conference FOR leaseholders to ask some of them. At present the only letters I would trust after a persons name are HHB—–Honest Human Being!!
Please continue via LKP to find these.
I agree, the image of leaseholders needs to be improved and the way for that to happen is for leaseholders to take themselves more seriously, for them be more responsible when it comes to appointing directors to their flat management companies, setting standards for the managing agent to follow and generally setting the performance bar a tad higher. If leaseholders were to take control of service charge funds through a bank account set up in the name of the flat management company then, I believe, the balance of power would be seen to be redressed. At present we have this uncomfortable situation that, when an MA is replaced, all hell is let loose with standing orders being summarily cancelled by the outgoing MA. For this reason, the boards of flat management companies are reluctant to switch MAs and that in turn encourages poor service and management performance. Thanks for your kind plaudit!
Well said Lesley, I totally agree. Leaseholders are treated like second class citizens and have no re course whatso ever. The banking sector is regulated, the insurance sector is regulated, the mortgage sector is regulated, credit companies are regulated…………. the list goes on.
Yet the leasehold market is worth millions of pounds per year and it all gets pushed under the carpet. Could this be that the people who have the power to do something about it are the very people who will lose the most if it is regulated?
If you need any help setting up a conference I am available JFTFOI.
Just ask for my contact details.