And he is giving the proceeds to the National Leasehold Campaign and LKP
The late Louie Burns (right) has published an ebook guide called “The leaseholder’s simple guide to leasehold”.
Louie Burns is absolutely alone in the professional leasehold sector in deprecating this form of tenure, its repeated unfairness and the murky game-playing operators who monetise people’s homes – usually poor people’s homes.
You get the feeling that while others making pious noises about reforming leasehold are keeping their fingers crossed that it won’t really happen, Louie would be absolutely delighted to be out of a job. That is, a job extending leases or buying freeholds for leaseholders using far too complicated, costly and landlord-friendly processes.
He would be happy enough doing this on a level playing field.
We are also very grateful to Louie for offering to give away all the proceeds to us and the National Leasehold Campaign of Katie Kendrick, Joanne Darbyshire and Cath Williams.
As they have a demo in Westminster scheduled for July 18 between 11am-2pm, their need is greater than ours.
The book can be downloaded from Kindle here
The leaseholder’s simple guide to leasehold
When you buy a leasehold property in this country you don’t own a single brick of that property. You are simply renting a space inside a building for the duration of your lease. Your freeholder owns your building, the land upon which it sits, the air rights above and the ground rights below….
And here is Louie Burns introduction:
The leaseholder’s simple guide to leasehold
When you buy a leasehold property in this country you don’t own a single brick of that property. You are simply renting a space inside a building for the duration of your lease.
Your freeholder owns your building, the land upon which it sits, the air rights above and the ground rights below. The law grants them all sorts of rights and privileges, for which they are then able to charge you. They can use current legislation to bully you into paying far too much for your lease extensions, service charges and major works.
This book is a guide for leaseholders who are looking to extend their lease, purchase the freehold of their flats or leasehold houses and understand how the valuation for a lease extension or freehold purchase works. The guides are written in an easy to understand style avoiding the complex terminology of the sector. They are not dry technical guides but how the processes work in reality. The aim of the book is to empower you to be able to navigate your way through the leasehold system.
100% of all the monies raised from sales of this book are donated to the National Leasehold Campaign and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership. By buying this book you are already supporting their great work.
Louie Burns was passionate about the rights of leaseholders. He regularly speaks to leaseholders informing them of their legal rights.
He regularly appeared in the media as an expert, and presents at events, seminars and conferences in the wider property industry. He is a regular speaker and trainer for the National Association of Estate Agents and Property Mark.
He advised the All Party Parliamentary Group, the Department of Housing Communities and Local Government and the Law Commission on the complexities and inequities of the leasehold system.
He was the author of the Leasehold Valuers Relativity Graph 2017 and is currently writing a document which argues a fairer capitalisation rate for leaseholders.
He died in 2020.
Related posts:
Louie Burns’ ‘passion for justice’ praised in Commons by Justin Madders MP
Louie Burns, LKP trustee, dies
LKP trustees Katie Kendrick and Louie Burns tell Sky News and BBC R4 MoneyBox of ‘David and Goliath’ fight for freeholds
Ask Louie Burns: The leasehold houses scandal and what you can do about it
Land Registry publishes new data on leasehold and fleecehold deals to help buyers and nudge Rightmove
McCarthy and Stone and Churchill: are you blackmailing government over the ground rent ban and is your business model broken? Asks BBC R4 MoneyBox
Louie, You are truly a star among Alpha Centauri’s?
Can this guide be purchased from Amazon as a paperback., it is something worth having and something in which we can trust.
I notice on the Amazon website they advertise the “Leasehold Handbook” which costs an amazing £140.00.
Michael H,
I am going to get a copy.
If you have no Kindle (E Reader) as I see it, the cheapest way out is to buy the standard Kindle E Reader for £59.99 from PC World/Currys, or off Amazon, and then buy the e reader edition of the book from Amazon.
Total £62.63, not too bad for a wealth of brilliant priceless information, and the Kindle can be used to get quite a lot of free books from Amazon later etc if one wants to
There are honourable men around it seems, Louis Burns for one. More strength to his arm – and another honourable man, step forward TORY MP Crispin Blunt. I still can’t get my head around his castigating (of leasehold and the professionals involved in leasehold) submission. Blunt by name, blunt by nature, above all an, honourable and decent man
I have been making enquiries on friends behalf concerning a shared ownership semi. My last enquiry concerned extending lease as only 77 years left, and on the right to achieve outright ownership.
Just received reply, no possibility of outright ownership, only up to 80% – why not the right to achieve full ownership? Can anyone give me a good reason?
Lease extensions can only be requested by leaseholder and only after 2 years – as this property only has 77 years left on lease, problems getting a mortgage. And of course the seller will have problems getting a buyer. Therefore they will very probably need to extend lease to achieve a sale, the cost?
Admin fee £200 plus vat
Valuation fee £650 plus vat
Legal fees £600 plus vat and plus disbursements
Plus value of the extension
The great unknown being the “value of extension” (and of course the old favourite “disbursements”), but already we are talking of £1740 before a value is put on extension.
Not earth shattering compared to what “owning” a leasehold house has cost some people, BUT UNNECESSARY, and real money for the average individual.
Leasehold is a means to achieve both power and extract money. No ifs, No buts, leasehold must be abolished.
Amazing information for a tiny price! ALL LEASEHOLDERS or anyone that knows a leaseholder really needs this book. All the information in this book will enable you to take control of your situation and your lease. A very enlightening book on why exactly we need the outdated and extremely unfair leasehold tenure abolished. I just wish that I had had this book a few years ago when I found no help where there should have been some (from the governments leasehold website). A MUST BUY!
Stop Press
: Shares in house builders slump as leaseholders purchase the Louie Burns book on leasehold!
Dear Louie, thank you and all people who are helping leaseholders.
Sounds like a great read. I wonder if it covers the ridiculous scenario we’ve found ourselves in, whereby the City Council (freeholder) leased a plot of land to Barratt Homes (Head leaseholder), who then built 77 homes and created a “sub-lease” for each property. So we don’t even own a leasehold property its a sub-leasehold!!! To make matters worse Barratt Homes then sold the Headlease to a company called Spenrent….. confused? Yes us too. Last year we paid Spenrent £6.5K to purchase the headlease removing the need to pay ground rent of £200 per year and freeing us from the crazy rules overtime you want to do something… But now trying to purchase the freehold from the city council (which should be zero given no ground rent and a remaining term of 280 years) and its taken them 10 months so far simply to instruct a surveyor. I’m am being crippled by legal fees. Does anyone else live in a property with such a ridiculous arrangement? Nightmare.
There should be an edit facility on LKP – “every time” not “overtime”.
Sean, don’t worry, the Law Commission is on the job, and they feel your pain. Freeholder, Head-Leaseholder, Sub-Leaseholders – Jesus ******* wept! Think of all the people you will be putting out of work when you eventually own the freehold.
The Law Commission far from feeling ordinary people’s pain, is concerned about compensating freeholders when they should be recommending forfeiture without compensation, and criminal prosecutions.
If you have no Kindle (E Reader) as I see it, the cheapest way out is to buy the standard Kindle E Reader for £59.99 from PC World/Currys, or off Amazon, and then buy the e reader edition of the book from Amazon.
Total £62.63, not too bad for a wealth of brilliant priceless information, and the Kindle can be used to get quite a lot of free books from Amazon later etc if one wants to
Hi people,
Update re Louie Burns e book. You obviously have to be registered/member of Amazon (free) but as long as you have internet connection you do not need a Kindle.
I have just purchased it for the £2.63 and instructed it to download to my pc/laptop (not a kindle)
The Amazon app also gets downloaded so now I can read the book on my laptop – brilliant, so you do not need a Kindle.
Super job Louie and excellent info in the book. Should go down in leasehold history as “The Reference Book One Must Have” – everyone should have one to hand. The best £2.63 anyone could spend.
I wonder if all Taylor Wimpey/Barratt/Persimmon etc staff have been issued with them, ha ha