Leasehold Knowledge Partnership

The registered charity for leaseholders

Menu
  • Home
    • Site map
    • Archive of posts by category
  • What is LKP
    • Privacy and Data Protection Statement
    • Site map
  • HELP FORM
  • News
      • APPG
      • ARMA
      • Bellway
      • Benjamin Mire
      • Brixton Hill Court
      • Canary Riverside
      • Charter Quay
      • Chelsea Bridge Wharf
      • Commonhold
      • Communities Select Committee
      • Conveyancing Association
      • Countrywide
      • DCLG
      • E&J Capital Partners
      • Exit fees
      • Fleecehold
      • Forfeiture
      • FPRA
      • Gleeson Homes
      • Ground rent scandal
      • Cladding crisis
      • Hanover
      • House managers flat
      • House of Lords
      • Housing associations
      • Informal lease extension
      • Insurance scams
      • IRPM
      • Jim Fitzpatrick MP
      • John Christodoulou
      • Justin Bates
      • Justin Madders MP
      • Law Commission
      • LEASE
      • Leasehold Valuation Tribunal
      • Local authority leasehold
      • London Assembly
      • Louie Burns
      • Martin Paine
      • McCarthy and Stone
      • Moskovitz / Gurvits
      • Mulberry Mews
      • National Leasehold Campaign
      • Oakland Court
      • OFT / CMA
      • Park Homes
      • Persimmon
      • Peverel
      • Philip Rainey QC
      • Plantation Wharf
      • Prostitutes
      • Quadrangle House
      • Recognised Tenants’ Association
      • Redrow
      • Retirement
      • RICS
      • Right To Manage Federation
      • Roger Southam
      • RTM
      • Sean Powell
      • SFO
      • Sinclair Gardens Investments
      • Sir Ed Davey
      • Sir Peter Bottomley
      • St George’s Wharf
      • Taylor Wimpey
      • Tchenguiz
      • West India Quay
      • William Waldorf Astor
      • Windrush Court
  • Accreditation
    • Accredited Companies
        • Block Managers Limited
        • Clear Building Management
        • Diamond Managing Agents
        • Dixon Emerald Associates
        • HML Group
        • Home from Home
        • Home Management Group
        • JFM Block & Estate Management
        • Jones Associates Letting & Management
        • Norwich Residential Management
        • Premier Block Management
        • Red Rock Property Management
        • Sapphire Property Management
        • Town & City Management
        • Urang Property Management
        • Vestra Property Management
  • Fighting back
      • Lease Extension
      • Q&As
      • Right to buy freehold
      • Commonhold
      • Bottomley blasts leasehold crimes on video
      • LVT/Property Chamber Survival
      • Tribunal triumphs … and defeats
      • Recognised Tenants’ Association
      • Right To Manage
      • Video
      • Find MP … and see how many leasehold voters
      • LEASE: what’s the point?
      • Pensioners win £68,500
      • Most damning LVT ruling ever made
      • Insurance racket
      • Local authority leasehold
      • Remember to extend your lease
      • St George’s wins £1 million
      • Leasehold law: the reforms
  • Sub-letting
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Parliament
      • Communities Select Committee
      • APPG
      • APPG December 14 2016
      • Commons Debate 20/12/16
      • APPG April 19 2017
      • APPG July 5 2017
      • APPG December 14 2016
  • Right To Manage
  • Lease Extension
  • National Leasehold Campaign
    • Louie Burns
    • Ground rent scandal
    • Michael Epstein
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Latest News / Bellway fears backlash over leasehold houses may eat into profits

Bellway fears backlash over leasehold houses may eat into profits

March 22, 2017 By admin

Bellway does not sell leasehold houses with doubling ground rents, but it does flog off the freeholds in untransparent deals with freehold owing entities such as Adriatic Land. The latter hides its beneficial ownership behind nominee directors

Bellway today confirmed that it is wary of a buyers’ backlash over the leasehold houses scandal.

Chief executive Ted Ayres has robustly stated that there is no such thing as a leasehold houses scandal, even though Taylor Wimpey has undertaken not to build them from January 1 this year.

Between 2007 and 2011 Taylor Wimpey built leasehold houses and flats with ground rents doubling every 10 years, which has trashed their value and made them unsellable, owners claim.

Bellway, based in Newcastle, sells leasehold houses with ground rents linked to RPI.

Bellway chief executive Ted Ayres said: “This is a problem for the industry.

“It is getting quite a lot of publicity at the moment.”

Bellway posted a 9.3 per cent rise in half-year profits to £247.6million. Revenues rose 5.9 per cent to £1.1billion as the firm sold a record 4,462 newly-built homes – up 6.5 per cent on the same period the previous year.

Bellway said its leases go up in line with inflation and do not double every decade.

Yet the company has infuriated many of the leading figures in the Facebook National Leasehold Campaign, including Katie Kendrick.

She bought her detached four-bedroom Bellway house in Ellesmere Port in July 2014, assisted by the government’s Help To Buy scheme.

Katie, who was to have addressed today’s cancelled All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform at Westminster, described her case as “very mild compared to thousands caught up in the abuse of leasehold”.

She has a 150 year lease with £150pa ground rent increasing after 10 yearsrs in line with RPI, and every 5 yrs thereafter.

Yet although she bought the property in in 2014, the lease started in 2006, so she lost eight years immediately.

Sales staff repeatedly used nonsense terms to describe the leasehold property, saying it was “virtually freehold”.

She was also told that the freehold would cost £2,000 to £4,000 and that she would be able to buy it after two years.

In fact, she had the right to buy it after two years, but Bellway could have sold her the freehold at any point, if it chose to do so.

But it didn’t. Instead, it sold the freehold 18 months later to Adriatic Land 4 (GR1) Limited, which hides its beneficial ownership behind nominee directors.

This freehold owning group is managed by the HomeGround group owned by Will Astor, who worked for leasehold gameplayer Vincent Tchenguiz for six years.

Tchneguiz, until his arrest by the Serious Fraud Office in March 2011, claimed to own one per cent of all the residential freeholds in the country, including the freehold books of McCarthy and Stone, Berkeley Group, Barratt, assorted smaller builders and defunct housing associations, and the City of Huddersfield.

For Katie to even inquire about buying the freehold, she had to pay HomeGround £108.

She was then told it would cost £13,000, while Bellway would have sold for £3,750, she claims.

HomeGround would not explain how it had come up with its valuation, and after a counter offer came back with a price of £7,680.

She is now going to enfranchise through the statutory route. And she is furious with Bellway.

“We have been miss-sold our homes on a massive scale,” she says. “This is our homes. Our futures. Our children’s inheritance. But it has been sold onto greedy third-party investors.

“Who are they? We have no idea. Are they based in this country or are they offshore?”

A Bellway spokeswoman said:

“Bellway have never offered a ten year doubling lease. After a period of 8 years from the term commencement date, the ground rent will increase in line with the retail prices index (RPI). Following this, it will increase by the rate of RPI every five years thereafter for the duration of the lease term. The reason for this is to ensure that the ground rent remains at the same value, in real terms, as at the time when the lease was granted. Unlike those stated recently in the press, it does not double.”

Related posts:

‘Fright night’ for Taylor Wimpey as profits fall 24% over leasehold scandal, says Times Bellway offers young mother freehold for £3,750. But Adriatic Land demands £12,750 … then agrees to half the sum Bellway Homes attempts to explain why leasehold houses are just fine. And it is self-interested rubbish … Bellway is second developer to face public protest over leasehold cheating MP urges Commons to condemn developers selling leasehold houses with onerous ground rents. And names Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Bellway and Adriatic Land …

Filed Under: Bellway, Ground rent scandal, Latest News, News Tagged With: Bellway, Daily Mail, Katie Kendrick, National Leasehold Campaign, The Times

Contact LKP

Need help?

LKPhelp2The leasehold game is weighted against ordinary home-owning leaseholders, who aren’t professional players. LKP was set up to redress the balance, to help you win your disputes or at least avoid disasters.

If you have a leasehold problem, you can email sok@leaseholdknowledge or take a chance on calling 07808 328 230.

Or fill out this form, which ensures that you provide the essential information.

LKPnewsletter3

Professional services

The following advertisements are from firms that seek business from leaseholders. Click on the logos for company profiles.

Law

Right to manage

Lease extension / enfranchisement


capitalleasehold6-9ins

Insurance

Landscaping

limetree

LKP Managing Agents

Big managing agents are big because they have got business from developers or large-scale freehold owing companies. Doubtless they are very obliging.

Not a single one is big through consumer choice.

Managing agents accredited to LKP want business from leaseholders. Many are former leaseholders.

All have signed undertakings of good practice and have provided extensive references … from leaseholders.

They can also hand-hold leaseholders through right to manage at minimal cost.

Contact Sebastian O’Kelly at LKP for further details: sok@leaseholdknowledge.com, 07808 328 230

Please click on logos for link and details

Comments

  1. Michael Hollands says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:15 pm

    Bellway go to long lengths to explain that they have never sought doubling Ground rents and that their RPI increases can be justified. They say that this keeps the ground rent at the same value. Which maybe true, and they may have got away with that for a few years until the leaseholders asked to purchase the freehold.
    But if Bellway felt they could justify RPI increases to give themselves a fair income, why do they go and sell the freeholds off to shady finance companies.knowing full well that the leaseholders will never get them back for a reasonable price.
    This was just greed with no thought for their customers.. So they must now assist them to buy these freeholds back.

  2. Michael Epstein says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    To Ted Ayres CEO Bellway Homes.

    Dear Mr Ayres,
    Since I know you or your senior colleagues read LKP postings, I will address you via this forum.

    I note your comments with interest, but to a large degree what you say is not particularly relevant to what Bellway homes actually face in the future?
    Your actions have alienated both current and future customers (and that is never a good position to be in?)

    So however successful Bellway have been in the past, the future is less assured.

    Clearly the leasehold mess that you created is going to have to be resolved and will end up costing your company a great deal of money which you will have to make provision for.

    And remember, its not just the provisions of the ground rent clauses in the lease that are onerous, the charges imposed by third party freeholders that you sell the freehold to is simply extortion.

    So, I can see a great deal of compensation winging its way to your customers.

    And before you come out with the “It was all legal guff” may I remind you of your responsibility when your agent acts on your behalf? A defence of “One rogue representative” will not hold water as a literally thousands of customers have been misled.

    So let me assume for a moment you do rectify your wrongs? What then?

    Well, unfortunately, a consequence of your actions in selling homes on a leasehold basis has shed light on so many other of your practices, which have been a great money spinner for you.

    Customers are getting wise to using your recommended solicitors. So bang goes many of those commissions.

    Using the tempting offer to have kitchen appliances or carpets supplied and fitted by you?

    Sorry, customers are wising up as to how much cheaper it would be to buy them themselves. So bang goes that easy money!

    Customer, now know not to buy/complete on a house within two months of your year-end account publishing date.

    What’s that going to do to your end of year accounts and your cash flow?

    Your business model depends on a quick turnover of new builds. If sales slow, you have to keep paying the interest charges, You have to keep an expensive sales team together along with a site office. Eventually, you will have to offer substantial discounts to complete the sales on your developments. And how long do you think it will be before a purchaser insists that you agree that if you sell any homes at a discount, they will be entitled to a refund on the purchase price equivalent to the discount you will be forced to offer?

    At present you are a profitable company. How do you think your shareholders react will react to a 25% fall in profits?

    To me it appears that you acted in the way you did not only for sheer greed, but even worse because in your arrogance you thought you could act in the way you did and get away with it.

    Vincent Tchenguiz and his Peverel Group had the same attitude. Look at what happened to them.

    • Leaseholder2 says

      March 22, 2017 at 9:40 pm

      Well said . Ole Ted Ayres CEO of Bellway homes is punching above his not inconsiderable weight. Clearly a greedy fool who has sent the company on a one way ticket to Nowhere due to his avarice and greed.

  3. Trevor Bradley says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    Are Building Societies/Mortgage Lenders and the Help To Buy Scheme – Ludicrous?

    See Dragons Den, BBC2, Episode 16, 26th Feb, 29 minutes in (8 days left to View on BBC I Player)
    In the above episode, the well-respected very successful entrepreneur and businessman, Peter Jones, CBE, was aghast that two applicants looking for an investor had already spent £250,000.00 on their business.
    It became worse when they made Peter Jones aware that the money had been spent on a lease.
    Peter questioned why they had paid a quarter of a million pounds in “rent”, in advance, as opposed to buying what would have been an appreciating asset.
    Peter declared their action to be absolutely ludicrous stating that nobody in their right mind would pay a quarter of a million pounds for 20 odd years “rent” in advance!!!
    Peter declined to offer any financial investment.

    Therefore, looking at the bigger picture, as houses rarely have to be built leasehold, should we not be questioning as to why our building societies and the like are giving such massive singular advance payments to these builders who are building properties with such onerous leases.
    Surely if the building societies knew what unacceptable terms were in some leases, and they certainly should know, they should have refused any mortgage.

    Is it not time to insist on explanations from the building societies and mortgage lenders that offer loans on onerous leasehold houses.
    Should they not be giving some prominent advice and support to their mortgagees and, even more so, putting pressure on the builders involved to assist with the freehold purchase at an acceptable original valuation.

    Also whilst we are waiting for some meaningful action from the government which, due to red tape/white papers etc., can unfortunately take time the building societies are in a position to change their terms and rules almost overnight.
    There is no reason whatsoever why building societies could just not declare that with immediate effect no mortgages will not be available on any new build houses that are leasehold.

    In the rare circumstances that leasehold is necessary; the lease should be subject to severe scrutiny not only by the purchaser’s solicitor, but also the building society/mortgage lenders lawyers.

    The bottom line is there is no need for leasehold houses, other than greed of the builder and freeholder.

  4. Michael Epstein says

    March 23, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    Could it be that in some instances the practice has developed that instead of a developer borrowing money to build a development, they are entering into agreements with third party freeholders who will advance the funds needed to build in return for the sale of the freeholds to them at a very advantageous price? And could this be the real reason behind the artificial creation of leaseholds?

    • Cercie says

      March 23, 2017 at 6:02 pm

      Michael That is genius. Why has nobody thought to mention that scenario before? It make so much sense..

  5. Trevor Bradley says

    March 23, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    Well, it. Needs senior people from these building societies to step up to the plate and confirm if they are involved with loans or not

  6. Trevor Bradley says

    March 23, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    The same question goes to the administrators of the Help To Buy Scheme. To whom is the scheme money paid to.
    If the money is to assist with leasehold property purchase why is the lease not scrutinised by the HTBS legal dept.
    It seems to easy to spend taxpayers money, which is what the HTBS is

    • Leaseholder2 says

      March 23, 2017 at 8:34 pm

      Well, will the Building society lenders just ‘Step up to the plate” and confirm if they are Involved in these loans or will it be up to the purchasers of these properties to reveal who the lenders are? Ultimately it will be up to the the purchasers to put their collective brains together and sort this out, Michael Epstein post was extremely illuminating -the blighted purchasers that subscribe to this website should pay great heed and respect to Michaels post.

  7. Michael Hollands says

    March 23, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    The process sounds akin to the way drugs are dealt with, which of course would be illegal.
    The Barons (the Developers) sell the freeholds to the Traders (the finance companies). The proceeds are used to finance further leasehold developments.
    The finance companies make a mint in selling them to the users (the leaseholders).
    And just like drugs they blight the leaseholders lives.
    It’s time this trade was also made illegal

  8. Trevor Bradley says

    March 23, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    ME, MH, Cercie, Leaseholder2, whether your thoughts are right or wrong, it will still be the usual premium building societies and Mortgage Lenders that the leaseholders are paying their loans back to.
    Hence why they should “come out” with their responses as I stated

All Party Parliamentary Group

Number 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell ‘delighted’ to be invited to present award to LKP

The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership was presented with a prestigious award by the All Party Parliamentary Group for leasehold and commonhold reform, which represents 171 MPs. Former housing minister Gavin Barwell, the current chief of staff of Number 10, was to have presented the award to Sebastian O’Kelly, LKP chief executive, and to Martin Boyd, the […]

Boris Johnson signs up to the APPG as pressure grows on lawmakers to be bold on leasehold

By Harry Scoffin As the political arms race over leasehold and commonhold rages on, LKP is pleased to report that Boris Johnson has joined the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform. The decision by the presumptive prime minister to join the bipartisan caucus of parliamentarians is a coup for campaigners pushing for abolition of […]

Leasehold and commonhold APPG now has 167 members

Current number of members 167 + 11 friends Listed below are the members of the All Party Parliamentary Group looking into Leasehold and Commonhold reform in the new parliament. The list is updated as new members join and will be updated on this page throughout the parliament. Any member of parliament in the Commons or […]

Brokenshire announces £200m Grenfell cladding removal fund – hours after APPG meeting of leaseholders

UPDATING … A £200 million fund to remove Grenfell cladding from private blocks was announced this morning by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire on the BBCR4 Today programme. It can be heard at 07.10 here This action has been long predicted by LKP, believing that ministers’ appeals to freeholders and developers to “do the decent thing” […]

Leasehold Advisory Service has ‘been under review’ for 10 years. Here are the findings …

The Leasehold Advisory Service, the government funded Leasehold Advisory Service, has been under review by the government for much of the last ten years. This seems to suggest that something is wrong, yet the government’s long-standing support for the Leasehold Advisory Service continues. LKP has, after many requests, obtained the two most recent reviews of […]

APPG on leasehold reform AGM

Co-Chairs Sir Peter Bottomley MP, Sir Edward Davey MP and Jim Fitzpatrick MP of the Parliamentary All-Party Group on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform issue an open invitation  to attend the Group’s Annual General Meeting: Date: Thursday 1st November 2018 Time: 4:00pm Venue: Room Q Portcullis House The meeting agenda will include – Election of officers, […]

APPG July 11: Robust debate over retirement ground rents and event fees

By Sebastian OKelly, LKP trustee The controversial issues of ground rents and exit fees in retirement housing were discussed at this week’s meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform. These were the main event in a meeting which also had an insider’s examination of leasehold insurance commissions, and why developers […]

Labour deputy Tom Watson joins APPG on leasehold reform – but select committee STILL won’t call in the housebuilders

Does the UK have the greediest, most venal and least competent housebuilders in the world? The Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joined the APPG on leasehold and commonhold reform yesterday, while the Communities Select Committee still has not called in the housebuilders. Mr Watson, the MP for West Bromwich East, joined on the prompting of […]

Justin Madders delays Leasehold Reform Bill and calls on the Government to provide justice for leaseholders

Labour MP for Ellesmere Port & Neston, Justin Madders has delayed the second reading of the Leasehold Reform Bill until  October 26 2018.  The Bill seeks to introduce a statutory formula for enfranchisement and lease extension similar to schemes in Northern Ireland and Scotland. It will end the incessant game-playing and revenues from the lease […]

APPG, December 6: Park home banditry; Law Commission; Planners barring leasehold houses; London deputy mayor; gargantuan Grenfell bills for leaseholders

We are all waiting for Sajid Javid The All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform met on December 6 at Westminster. Overshadowing all was the conclusion of Communities Secretary Sajid Javid’s report on “Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market”: the review that he announced in the summer, that concluded in September, into […]

Views of Tory MP Crispin Blunt: Government should ‘nullify’ ground rents. End ‘feudal’ leasehold. Bring in commonhold. And stop developers’ and solicitors’ ‘unconscionable’ cheating of the naïve

A fulsome denunciation of the present rip-off leasehold system has been made in the starkest Corbynista terms … by Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who represents leafy Reigate, in non-leasehold Surrey. He says: “Present-day “onerous ground rents” are, more likely than not, the resultant of unconscionable conduct carried out by one sector of society who have […]

A second backbench debate on leasehold issues

An application for a backbench debate on leasehold issues is due to be heard on Tuesday 21st November 2017 http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/backbench-business-committee/ The application asks the committee to consider: The APPG on leasehold and commonhold reform continues to grow and to date has 127 members. Government recently issued both a consultation and a call for evidence on […]

We are being ripped off by private estate charges by developers and property predators just like leaseholders, says HORnet

Thousands of homeowners on new build estates are facing escalating management charges for unadopted roads and patches of ground. Speculators are hoovering up these assets for the lucrative income streams, enforced through covenants on freehold houses and lease terms in leasehold properties. A campaign group called the HomeOwners’ Rights Network is asking the All Party […]

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 […]

APPG tells MPs: Ban ground rents. Introduce commonhold. Summons housebuilders to select committee. End rip-off ‘fleasehold’ permission fees on managed estates

Ground rents should simply be banned; commonhold introduced and made compulsory; developers should be summoned for ‘Philip Green’ shaming by select committees; and rip-off ‘fleasehold’ permission fees should be ended. These were issues discussed at a standing-room only meeting of All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold on Monday, that attracted more than 100 […]

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 […]

Mortgage lenders and conveyancers lay bare the rot of leasehold to MPs

… and MPs says profiteering freeholders will be treated ‘like Philip Green’ … LKP patrons call for another Commons debate on leasehold Mortgage lenders and conveyancers yesterday told MPs in the All Party Parliamentary Group that leasehold is in desperate need of legislative reform. The cautious Council of Mortgage Lenders, now renamed UK Finance, spoke […]

All Party Parliamentary Group: this is how to reform leasehold

The All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform today calls for leasehold houses to be banned and for end to onerous ground rents. It can be read here This follows the work of the APPG and its secretariat the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership in exposing the scandal of leasehold houses. Today, Taylor Wimpey undertook to spend […]

STOP Selling new build leasehold houses demands Leader of the House of Commons

In the House of Commons today one of the latest members of the leasehold reform APPG spoke passionately about the scandal of leasehold houses. MP for South West Bedfordshire, Andrew Selous, raised the unacceptable practice of large developers buying freehold land on which they then sell houses on a leasehold basis.  This is currently taking […]

Commons leasehold debate. December 20 2016

The Commons debate on leasehold reform took place after the intervention of LKP patrons Jim Fitzpatrick and Sir Peter Bottomley. The debate can be seen here: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/fc53bd87-8abf-4986-b7ce-6a7a488b8cfc The debate can be read here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-12-20/debates/4F15110B-F6D5-4FA1-9154-536BD848130E/LeaseholdAndCommonholdReform The catalyst was the scandal of Taylor Wimpey selling homes between 2007-2011 with doubling ground rents and then selling the freeholds […]

Taylor Wimpey abandons the leasehold houses racket from January 1

Taylor Wimpey has undertaken to cease building revenue generating leasehold houses from January 1. The announcement comes in a letter to LKP MP patrons Jim Fitzpatrick and Sir Peter Bottomley, and was made before the All Party Parliamentary Group meeting last Wednesday. Taylor Wimpey says that it sold leasehold houses in the North West, a […]

Commons debate leasehold. Tuesday December 20

Commons debate leasehold. Tuesday December 20 The case made for the debate by Jim Fitzpatrick and Sir Peter Bottomley can be watched on parliament’s own TV here: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5069cc08-aeee-4451-93d8-fef9b0802407?in=14:31:10 The Commons library briefing on the debate is here: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CDP-2016-0253

70 attend APPG on leasehold after ground rent scandal grabs media attention

… and Taylor Wimpey backs down on building more leasehold houses More than 70 stakeholders, MPs and peers attended last night’s meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform. The meeting, chaired by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour, Poplar and Limehouse), was called at short notice following the upsurge of anger at Taylor Wimpey. The […]

Guardian’s Patrick Collinson says ‘time to reform leasehold in entirety’

The first speaker at the APPG was Patrick Collinson, Money editor, at the Guardian, who has been campaigning with this story over the past month and half. Although Mr Collinson kindly acknowledged the activities of LKP, he was first alerted to doubling rents by his 90-year-old father. The latter was advising Mr Collinson’s brother on […]

Housebuilder Bob Bessell says ‘no justification for ground rents at all’

Bob Bessell, founder of retirement housebuilder Retirement Security, told the All Party Parliamentary Group that he has never charged ground rents. His company, based in Stratford on Avon and founded in 1985, has built 1,600 retirement flats around the country at 30 sites. “I started as a social worker and I had to invent things […]

Philip Rainey QC: Are we creating homes or an investment asset class?

One of the leading barristers in landlord and tenant law questioned the purpose of ground rents and urged legislators to be bold in the wholescale reform of leasehold law. Philip Rainey QC, addressing the All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on December 14, quoted his historically minded colleague Philip Wood, whose book “The fall of the […]

Open Data Institute says data will be key to reforming leasehold

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform invited Peter Wells, of the Open Data Institute to address the meeting on December 14 2016. The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership had been accepted as an accelerated start-up by the ODI. Peter’s speech in full: Hello, thank you for inviting me. I’m from the Open Data Institute […]

Questions from APPG attendees: Ground rent sale prices have risen tenfold since 2007

A number of key figures in leasehold were in the audience of the All Party Parliamentary Group and several asked questions. Ground rent sale prices have risen ten-fold since 2007 David Thomas, CEO of Barratt Developments In the North East and in the North West houses have traditionally been sold leasehold whether on the second […]

Commons to debate leasehold reform next Tuesday. And Bottomley intends to name leasehold game-players …

LKP’s patron MPs Jim Fitzpatrick and Sir Peter Bottomley have secured a three-hour Commons debate next Tuesday (December 20) to discuss reforming leasehold tenure. It is the first full-on debate over leasehold issues since the debates that led to the 2002 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act. The MPs made the announcement to the All Party […]

Ban revenue-generating leasehold houses, says Justin Madders MP. Redrow responds

Labour MP Justin Madders has demanded a ban on the building of leasehold houses where there is no justification for them. Leasehold houses have proliferated as housebuilders exploit the housing crisis to make extra revenues by selling off the freeholds, often to shady investors based overseas who hide behind nominee directors. Worse, some housebuilders – […]

Taylor Wimpey CEO says doubling ground rent scandal under ‘review’. But Bottomley asks: ‘Have innocent homebuyers been shafted?’

This afternoon Pete Redfern the CEO of Taylor Wimpey has responded to the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform saying that the issue of homeowners with doubling ground rents is under “review”. Mr Redfern’s full letter is below. He points out that the doubling ground rent leases, which LKP is aware apply to leasehold […]

Bottomley tells Taylor Wimpey to explain ‘sharp practice’ ground rents – and asks for names of directors who approved them

Sir Peter Bottomley (right) has demanded that Taylor Wimpey explain its “unfair ground rent” provisions to the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform. Yesterday he told fellow MPs at the APPG meeting chaired by Jim Fitzpatrick, Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse: “The ground rent increase may have been legal. It is clearly undesirable. […]

Pete Redfern: Stop pontificating about the housing crisis and sort out the ground rent scandal of Taylor Wimpey’s own making

This morning Pete Redfern, Taylor Wimpey CEO, was on the Today programme (BBC Radio 4) discussing the housing crisis. This afternoon MPs are demanding he explain a housing crisis of Taylor Wimpey’s own making: building leasehold houses and flats where ground rents double every ten years. This has left first-time buyers with homes that they […]

More Posts from this Category

DIrection

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Find Everything

Essential reads …

  • Ground rent scandal
  • Parliament
  • MPs’ APPG on leasehold
  • Benjamin Mire
  • Moskovitz / Gurvits
  • Oakland Court
  • McCarthy and Stone
  • Persimmon
  • Recognised Tenants’ Association
  • Cladding crisis
  • Canary Riverside
  • John Christodoulou
  • Peverel
  • Peverel Cirrus story so far
  • Charter Quay
  • Forfeiture
  • Plantation Wharf
  • Law Commission
  • Plantation Wharf
  • West India Quay
  • LEASE: what’s the point?
  • Tchenguiz
  • Sean Powell
  • Press
  • Exit fees
  • William Waldorf Astor
  • Martin Paine
  • LKP anthem
  • LVT/Property Chamber Survival
  • Most damning LVT ruling ever made
  • Pensioners win £68,500
  • Park Homes
  • Redrow
  • Retirement

Copyright © 2019 Leasehold Knowledge Partnership