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 […]
Is this LEASE being ‘unapologetically on the side of leaseholders’, Mr Barwell?
Two months after the housing minister told the Leasehold Advisory Service that it would be funded to free itself from commercial dependence on the sector, it is selling its services again. Gavin Barwell told LEASE at its humiliating annual conference on February 1, that: “What we really want is for [LEASE] to help leaseholders. To […]
DCLG rejects second complaint about Roger Southam as LEASE chair. He was appointed on merit, it claims
The Department of Communities and Local Government has rejected a second complaint about Roger Southam being the chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service. “Mr Southam has not done anything in his private business that impinges upon his role as Chair of LEASE,” the DCLG tells the National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group. The group represents many […]
Bottomley tells BBC R4: Clear out sector stooges from LEASE. Stop barring LKP trustees. Bring justice quickly to leasehold house owners.
BBC R4 You & Yours link Sir Peter Bottomley MP, patron of LKP, told the BBC today that the “scandal” of the Leasehold Advisory Service being packed with freeholder stooges needs to end. “The charity trustees of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership should be regarded as qualified to be on the board of the government advisory […]
MP Justin Madders questions role of Roger Southam as LEASE chair
Justin Madders, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, called for an urgent review of the LEASE Chair in Parliament today. In his strongest statement yet, Madders explained that the LEASE Chair “Roger Southam has extensive previous business interests with freeholders and has even boasted of maximising ground rent opportunities for them” The exchange in Parliament […]
Justin Madders MP demands LEASE chair has ‘no business interests in the leasehold sector’
Justin Madders MP has asked the Secretary of State at the DCLG Sajid Javid to ensure that the chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service has “no business interests in the leasehold sector”. He has also asked that at least one member of the LEASE board be “an independent representative of leaseholders”. The written parliamentary questions […]
Will more funding for LEASE just be: Carry on minister!
By Martin Boyd Leaseholders have been hugely relieved that we finally have a housing minister, Gavin Barwell, who understands that too many things in the leasehold world have been broken for far too long. The Ministers speech at the LEASE conference was particularly strong explaining there was “No excuse for leasehold houses we will stamp […]
‘Dump Roger Southam. Appoint Sebastian O’Kelly,’ National Leasehold Campaign tells housing minister
The pugnacious leadership of the National Leasehold Campaign, a Facebook group with 1,300 members, has demanded that Roger Southam step down as chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service. His place should be taken by Sebastian O’Kelly, trustee of LKP, the group has told housing minister Gavin Barwell. The National Leasehold Campaign represents leasehold house owners […]
Leaseholder activists rejected for positions on LEASE board
Two prominent advocates on behalf of leaseholders have been rejected for the new board positions on the Leasehold Advisory Service. LKP trustee Sebastian O’Kelly was rejected for the second time to the board; Bob Smytherman, prominent LibDem councillor in Worthing and chairman of the Federation of Private Residents Associations was also turned down – for […]
DCLG rejects complaint over LEASE chair Roger Southam, who pledged to ‘maximise ground rent opportunities’ for freeholders
The Department of Communities and Local Government has rejected a complaint by LKP that leasehold sector professional Roger Southam is conflicted as the chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service. Mr Southam was “appointed on merit” and “LEASE is totally separate from his private business”, the DCLG said. LKP raised concerns in November, but the issue […]
‘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 […]
Housing minister says LEASE must be on the side of leaseholders, and promises more money
The Leasehold Advisory Service will be funded so that it can unambiguously represent the interests of leaseholders without dependence commercial deals with the sector, the housing minister Gavin Barwell said yesterday. “This means information must be free in financial terms, but it must also be free from any bias; impartial; a service dedicated to leaseholders,” […]
