… and forfeiture needs changing, too
Housing minister Brandon Lewis is facing trouble over his Housing Bill with Sir Peter Bottomley today telling the commons:
“The Bill totally misses out the necessary changes to leasehold and commonhold.
“Some years ago, the House passed a Bill to allow commonhold to come in. It has defects and we are going to be lumbered with more and more leaseholds being created—for over half of new homes.
“The second thing I object to is that we have not taken the easy opportunity of cutting out the forfeiture of people’s homes when there has been a little dispute over some charges.
“I hope that later on, perhaps in another place, if not on Report and Third Reading, the House will realise that the Government really need to get on and sort out the problems of leasehold that affect a very, very high number of property owners.”
Full Hansard here
Related posts:
Ban leasehold by 2020, says MP Jim Fitzpatrick … and introduce commonhold instead
Come on, Shelter! Don’t demand more housing without addressing leasehold’s many, many defects …
Realities of leasehold spelled out during the Housing Bill
LKP submission to Housing Bill
LKP suggestions prompt amendments to Housing Bill
How JB Leitch just cannot resist the F-word … for forfeiture
Disappointing, though sadly, not surprising. Are there any positive developments at all? I can send you the response I had form Brandon Lewis when raising this.
Please do include Brandon Lewis’s response.
The scandals in leasehold are warming up.
At LKP we are presently deluged with London local authority leaseholders facing major works schemes: £38k on Tuesday; £40k on Wed am and £34k in pm; and £15k today. All different London local authorities.
Brandon Lewis’ party supports homeownership and is extending right to buy. Many council leaseholders are homeowners only until the first major works scheme.
Not once has a Housing Minister attended any of the Round Table discussions on Leasehold matters, which to me said it all at the time. They are just not interested in resolving any of the issues leaseholders are faced with.
Everyone know’s it is a waste of time now, even trying to go to the FTT to dispute service charge fees etc, the writing is on the wall before anyone gets through the doors.
I think it is a disgrace this governement now and the last government have allowing house builders to build leasehold homes when they know full well there is an alternative to leasehold.
Even if Common hold is going to take time to sort out (which it should have been by now) then all new developments should be built with each leaseholder being made an automatic member of a Resident Management Company and they are not! why? because greedy councils and government officials allow the developers to have a second bite of the cherry when they either sell on the Freehold of the development or the leaseholders decide to buy under the Right of First Refusal (if they are lucky) buy via Enfranchisement or buy an extension to their own individual Lease….
This is just a crooked practice that needs to be elimated and maybe John Healy might take this mantle up as well if enough people contact him.. There are over 5 million leaseholders in this country and the number is growing daily.
I don’t think anyone can fault Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick for their unwavering support in this matter.
Has anyone asked Jeremy Corbyn to raise this issue at Prime Ministers Question Time.
I note Sadiq Khan MP who is bidding to become the London Mayor is encouraging firms to build new homes for their workers. He claims that this will be cost effective as the firms can keep the freeholds and make money from them. Let no one say, that any MP is ignorant of the plight of leaseholders.
I thought he said “we can keep the freeholds” and have an income stream from them. Either way he is clearly intent on screwing leaseholders. I have visited his web page and left a message suggesting that he contacts Sebastian O’Kelly and that reform of leasehold may be vote winner.
Maybe they can reopen the workhouses of old and be done with social housing altogether!!! Wait a minute! No they can’t, as they have all been converted into luxury pads that have been bought by oversees investors who don’t even live in them.