ITV News has again reported the leasehold house scandal, which particularly affects the North West.
The item, broadcast on March 7, precedes increasing militancy from caught-out leasehold homeowners, some of whom cannot now sell their houses because of onerous ground rents.
On March 18 a demonstration is planned by the National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group outside the sales suite of a national housebuilder building 2,000 leasehold houses in Ellesmere Port.
On March 22, the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform will meet. Among the speakers will be leaders of the National Leasehold Campaign, which has 1,700 members. ~In addition, the meeting will be addressed by Labour shadow housing minister Ruth Cadbury, and Labour MP for Ellesmere and Neston Justin Madders.
The ITV report can be see here
It reads:
“Thousands of families across the North West are discovering rising costs on the new-build houses they bought on a leasehold basis.
“Katie Kendrick from Ellesmere Port Cheshire wants a change in housing law after seeing the price of the freehold on her home rocket.
“Justin Madders, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston has described this as the “PPI scandal of the housing market’ and in a parliamentary debate said home owners are being ‘exploited’.
“MPs are calling for buyers to be compensated after being caught up in the leasehold ‘property trap’
“For four years Taylor Wimpey sold leasehold properties with a double ground rent clause every 10 years. They have now stopped that practice.
“In a statement they said:
“We understand our customers’ concerns and are actively reviewing these leases, which we stopped using on sites commenced after 2011 as a result of changing economic conditions and outlook.
“Our priority is to ensure that we do a full and thorough review for our customers and we are seeking to understand how we may be able to help them.
“We have committed to coming back to customers who have this type of lease and who are part of our review by the end of April.”
Taylor Wimpey had said that its “review” would be complete by end of March.
Related posts:
ITV News says 45,000 leasehold houses sold in last five years. LKP claims £300-500m new home freeholds sold every year
Scale of leasehold house scandal revealed in mass email dump to house builder bosses
Leaseholders to stage ground rent demo at Redrow’s Ledsham Garden Village
Scandal makes Ground Rents Income Fund plc fall £6m since March but … it has paid out 40.6% in three years
Ground rent protestors stage ANOTHER demonstration against leasehold houses and charges
LEASE chair Roger Southam in Private Eye (again)
I fully support the NLC demonstration on 18th of March and I will be part of any protest that takes place In London. I think the NLC should consider organising a huge ‘Poll Tax style demo in London and handing a signed petition to 10 Downing St.
The APPG or leasehold reform should ask the Competition & Markets Authority to declare the every 10 years increase in ground rent which prevents a re-sale of 125 years lease, an unfair contract term and reduce the ground rent to a peppercorn.
The Competition and Markets Authority are funded by taxes which are paid by leaseholders and , not by freeholder companies and CMA should be acting for the benefit of the leaseholder tax payers .
Considering they are what is left of the OFT they should be doing just that! I know when I spoke to the OFT as was a few Yrs ago they referred me to the Unfair Consumer Contract Regs 1999. A good read but unfortunately not recognised by the opposition Freeholders/Managing Agents as it denies them their Xmas party money.