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 the evil things.
Roger Southam, unaccountably the chairman of the taxpayer-funded Leasehold Advisory Service, attempts the muddying of waters today that the leasehold sector habitually deploys whenever its affairs are scrutinised.
“Leasehold is not the evil thing that that is being portrayed,” he writes today on the LEASE website.
While deploring some aspects of leasehold management, he unaccountably omits examination his own.
Mr Southam, now employed by Savills but formerly the owner of Chainbow property management, embedded his own company into the leases of Taylor Wimpey London sites.
This meant his company would have owned the management that controlled these expensive blocks of flats in perpetuity.
It is a practice of creating tripartite leases and it is deplored across the sector.
Even though Taylor Wimpey had sold the freeholds – to Adriatic Land – it interceded, removed Chainbow and the company was handed to the leaseholders
Taylor Wimpey leaseholders ask: if the management company is ours, how do we oust Roger Southam?
His other priority in the sector was to “maximise ground rents” as a consultant to freeholders.
Mr Southam today makes the argument that developers have to make income from the investment sale of ground rents to make projects viable.
This is difficult to sustain in the face of the developers helping themselves to gargantuan remuneration, such as Jeff Fairburn CEO of Persimmon getting £106 million as a performance bonus.
There appears to have been some fat in the viability of Persimmon’s schemes hitherto, to put it at its most polite.
Then Mr Southam moves on to the utterly predictable line that leasehold is necessary to pay for communal assets, such as eco-friendly communal boilers.
So, leasehold is necessary to save the planet.
“There are parades of houses that have been sold freehold that should have been leasehold,” Mr Southam writes.
Well, at least it is good to know where the taxpayer-funded Leasehold Advisory Service is going to stand in all this: firmly alongside the housebuilders and the money.
Not the job of LEASE to warn ministers of leasehold houses scandal, Roger Southam tells BBC
Related posts:
Justin Madders MP demands LEASE chair has ‘no business interests in the leasehold sector’
DCLG rejects second complaint about Roger Southam as LEASE chair. He was appointed on merit, it claims
DCLG rejects complaint over LEASE chair Roger Southam, who pledged to ‘maximise ground rent opportunities’ for freeholders
Motion of no confidence in Roger Southam as LEASE chair
Roger Southam takes over as LEASE chair
Ground rent protestors stage ANOTHER demonstration against leasehold houses and charges
Roger: you keep reminding us all that you WERE a ‘Leaseholder’ in a past life… what happened? Did the managements rip you off as well! 🙂
You should do the honorable thing and step aside before you really do regret the intrution into your private affairs.
Being the chair of LEASE must be very lucrative and influential….as it was worth you ‘selling ‘ your company to Savilles for… lobbying is the business to be in I believe!
The situation is very ironic. For years Roger has being saying that Leaseholders need to get educated, he states it in most of his articles.
Well, we are getting educated and realising what a big scam leasehold can be, and worse still it is being defended by LEASE and its Chairman.
Now we are educated he says we are complaining too much.
It’s now time for him to admit that the system is a sham, and only continues as it is supported by powerful people with vested interests who make a lot of money from it. But wait, both he and his wife are part of it so someone else needs to take over.
The whole Leasehold system needs a complete overhaul or scrapping
Agreed!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! This is beyond parody. Talk about rubbing salt into the shafted leaseholders wounds. Has the housing minister responded to the NLC’s excellent letter requesting the removal of Roger Southam as lease chairman. He must go and GO NOW.
No he hasn’t responded.
I will ‘re send
He mist resign immediately !!!
The national leasehold campaign now has 6200 members we urge u to resign !!!
Excellent. The pressure must be relentless, Enough of Leaseholders being patronised by the likes of Roger Southam and led like lambs to the slaughter by venal Freeholders and their compliant ‘Managing agents’ . ‘Solicitors’ and crooked surveyors. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!
Excellent, the pressure must be relentless for Southam to resign! Leaseholders are being patronised by the the chairman of lease and being led like lambs to the slaughter by venal Freeholders, their unscrupulous ‘ solicitors’ crooked Managing Agents and puppet surveyors. ENOUGH ALREADY! The game is up. Everybody dig deep and research ‘Mainstay’ ( Southams wife works for them) and Roger Southam’s previous life as head of ‘CHAINBOW’ . Dig up as much information as you can and share it on LKP. Amazing what you can find online….
Agreed!
I am reminded of a case at the Tribunal back in 2012 concerning “administration” charges following a court ruling against a Mr Wong for non payment of service charges, who subsequently sold his flat. The outstanding amount of some 22,000 pounds was accepted and payed by bank transfer.What was disputed though, was a charge for 9,611 pounds in relation to the action.
According to the Tribunal, “The circumstances were that the leaseholder was eager to secure a sale and the landlord to use a common phrase had the leaseholder “over a barrel”.
A submission by the property manager that such a charge should not be considered as an administrative charge so was beyond the scope of the tribunal was dismissed.
The tribunal noted that by his admission the property manager was inexperienced in that this was his first tribunal hearing and this inexperience may have led him to asking about a Section 20 C cost order, and being reminded by the tribunal that he could not make such an application.
The tribunal notes that “In dealing with a party who queries a number of issues there is always a temptation to “saturate” the hearing with documents that there is no evidence that all the documents were necessary or proportionate to the issues that were raised”( ie a snow job!).
The tribunal ruled the claimed costs to be reduced by 2,611 pounds.
And who was the property manager so heavily criticised by the tribunal?
Step forward MR ROGER SOUTHAM!
Lon/00AW/LSC/2011/07
Master Epstein please keep em comin!!!
I sure you have the ‘SILVER BULLET’
The fact DCLG are content heavily hints that real reform is not coming. They have to wring their hands at the obvious scandal. The rest they have known and condoned.
By the way, RPI indexing is no protection from onerous ground rents. It’s all in the intervals. You’ll never beat thirds at a fixed amount unless you set a fixed GR.
This has made me so cross.
Seriously this Is the agency that according to the previous housing minister must be “solely on the side of the leaseholder”.
Clearly this statement does not reflect this in any way shape or form.
However what else can we expect from this man who’s interests clealry lye with the freeholders and management companies.
As Jo Derbyshire said ” today this is like asking turkeys to vote for Xmas”.
Now he has made his position clear he must step aside. He is making a mockery of LEASE. Its laughable.
The national leasehold campaigners (NLC) want him out.
Agreed and seconded Katie – the phrase “enough is enough” comes to mind – now where have we heard that recently?!
This surely cannot not be morally right or legal?
Is there a good investigative Journalist out there that could look into this? Is there collusion going on
Who are the share holders who belongs to any political party
It just can’t be right. Hopefully I am wrong but please someone look into this
Absolutely laughable that this man should continue in post, Two words fox & henhouse! Instead of Lease keeping people who are not “solely on the side of the leaseholder” as the previous housing minister stated, out of their organisation they’ve given the biggest poacher in town the keys to the reserve. by having him in his current position. they’ve ensured for the continuing future that lease will not be fit for purpose for leaseholders, but will remain a tax payer funded advisory service for freeholders to gain yet more leverage against their lowly tenants. Whoever is in charge of his continuing appointment I say shame on you!!
Brandon Lewis ( con) approved Roger Southam as Chair of Lease. I believe he is now Head of immigration’ or suchlike in the current government.
I received an email from LEASE with Roger’s (We are on first name terms Roger and I) statement on the consultation. I sent an email directly to my good friend, Roger, on the subject, I quote “Wrong Roger dear, leasehold is a complete and total and absolute and unqualified evil”. I finished “Don’t worry Roger, you are a smart guy with entrepreneurial skills, you will not go hungry”
Just received another email from LEASE, it seems the consultative committee are using LEASE as a conduit for opinions. Why aren’t they using LKP – no need to respond to that question
Correction, the email I said was from LEASE, is from LKP – Phew, and Phew again.
I wanna email too – I have fifty pages prepared to send in! Been inspired. (Next I’ll reform the NHS).
I know nobody will read my 50 pages – such nice tables too – but I CAN’T STOPPPPP!
It just the best example of what is wrong with the system. To all parties – surely when thinking CAPITALISM no one is really thinking this is the right wealth generating scheme? I am not surprised they are fighting back. We are at WAR Mr. R.Southam!!!
Agreed!
What a farce and a sham! Roger Southam is not fit to be the chair of LEASE. This is unquestionably a conflict of interest. The government have lost the confidence of the people!
Agreed!
He MUST go.
Leaseholders will.not use this service.
It’s a waste of taxpayers money.
Of course leasehold is not all bad. If you are the freeholder, I would imagine it’s pretty good, therefore there is no solution to please everyone.
The government needs to agree that the system is outadated and start phasing out with a view to abolishion. Of course there is money at stake, but freeholders don’t offer any innovations or creative business model that benefits society. Most of them, (like in our case), don’t even look after “their” buildings properly and let them deteriorate whilst fleecing the “tenants”.
The tribunals do not offer an easy solution and in any case have very limited powers to do anything about scammy freeholders, who may even be based abroad. . Ground rents set to peppercorn ( even the term is ridiculously outdated) should just be the start of ending this fiasco.
I read this recently and now know my purpose in life is to be an opportunity.
“…in unprecedented economic times with historically low interest rates and persistently low inflation, the reversionary ground rent market (freehold ground rents sold subject to shorter residential leases) has been quietly picking up momentum in recent years. And why not? For those in the know, reversionary ground rents can provide investors with a secure, albeit modest, income return coupled with inherent growth potential not solely linked to the performance of the housing market.
… sophisticated bid level process factoring in review pattern, length of time to review, size of ground rent and an assessment of any potential bolt-ons such as management rights, insurance rights etc. Non-reversionary ground rents have certainly enjoyed being front and centre as the new kid on the investment block.”
“it can be said that ‘90 is the new 80’. The definition of what is and what isn’t considered ‘reversionary’ by the market has shifted towards pricing leases up to 90 years primarily on their lease extension premium potential rather than the value of their ground rent income stream.”
Not all bad, mind…
“Most housebuilders and developers offer 125 years plus, preferring to extract value from review provisions and market ground rents of £250 plus rather than creating inherent value from ever shortening leases and lease extension potential”
Phew.
“The underlying pressure on lessees needing lease extensions at higher unexpired terms is apparent. With increasingly tightened mortgage lending rules and many borrowers taking on longer term loans, the marketability of shorter leases in the housing market has been diminished, particularly since the late noughties recession. This is unlikely to relax any time soon.”
Bugger.
Nice to have a purpose, innit.
Forget to source above:
https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/an-oldie-but-a-goodie–reversionary-ground-rents-in-2017
Where is the edit button?
I did it for you Paddy, Seb
Jesus that really is somerthing else! Thankyou for sharing Paddy.
Jesus that really is somerthing else! Thankyou for sharing Paddy.
Roger Southam as Chair of LEASE is a blatant conflict of interests that destroys all credibility in the Leasehold Advisory Service and the Government.
There is no way that this man can represent the voice of the ordinary leaseholder and should do the decent thing and resign.
Agreed !
It is an utter travesty that Southam is the chairman of ‘LEASE’ which is a tax funded quango. We are being treated like fools and must insist that he resigns with immediate effect or is removed. I think we should consider organising a demonstration outside ‘LEASE’ London office if this individual does not step down.. We should also alert the media.and reiterate Southam’s association with “‘CHAINBOW’.
Agreed!
I do not understand how Roger is still in his position. Clear conflict of interest and lease continues to favour the freeholders. The government funded Lease is not working to assist the leaseholders who have been consistently lied to.
I am aghast at this response from Roger Southam to the leasehold consultation and feel the need to vent!
Firstly, leasehold=feudalism=evil so for Mr Southam to not even understand this basic concept is extremely worrying. I would like to thank him though for stating that we CAN have a leasehold ban and commonhold for flats: it’s a shame he has not previously fought for these things on behalf of the leaseholders he is meant to represent.
His concern that management issues will increase if leasehold is banned and commonhold introduced is complete and utter nonsense because the issues around lack of management regulation is at its height right now and will only be addressed when residents are supported to take back control of their buildings or estates.
These residents will then of course have the right to choose their own agent, and businesses such a Mainstay for example, will have to compete for contracts and be answerable to the residents instead of the other way round. I wonder why Mr Southam is concerned about that?
Then there is his very strange comment that without leasehold, new build developments would not be viable? I am assuming he means financially viable but if true how are other freehold developers still around and producing affordable housing – such as Gleesons for example?
He then goes on to raise concerns about “rhetoric and finger pointing” and cries of “profiteering”! that he considers is a little unfair – well that is my perception of his statement- but fails to acknowledge that those of us caught up in the leasehold trap have every right to point fingers and shout our rhetoric from the rooftops if we believe that we have been conned into buying leasehold properties by the apparently impoverished developers and their freeholder friends.
He finally calls for an objective debate which I think is a splendid idea! In my experience objectivity requires total transparity with all the facts laid out on the table and I am sure Mr Southam will be more than willing to contribute to those discussions and indeed , as he says, examine the development processes in detail to include the selling off of ground rent portfolios to third party managing agents and their freeholders.
I do worry though that it might all get a bit too much for Mr Southam and perhaps he should consider handing over the LEASE reigns to someone who is less likely to feel pressurised by any personal connections. He may also be relieved to not have to listen to thousands of ground rent horror stories presented during the debate as evidence – there would probably be too much finger wagging for him.
The selling off of freeholds to his wife who’s a manager for Mainstay and who managers the Aviva Realm fund that holds 36000 of our freehold portfolios.
No way is he.going to cut off the hand that feeds him.
What man in their right mind would offer advice to a government that could directly affect their wife’s income stream? Unless they want deaf & dumb dinners for the rest of their lives I’d say none. That is why Roger has to go! He is personally & professionally conflicted in his role to provide any objectivity or fairness to any of the legislation that DCLG might implement.
Let’s all email the new housing minister directly and demand answers as to why he has ignored the NLC’s excellent letter requesting that Southam be removed as Chair Of ‘LEASE’ and detailing why.? It is beyond comprehension why ‘LEASE’/DCLG and Brandon Lewis between them thought him an appropriate appointee,whilst denying Sebastian O’ Kelly who alongside Martin Boyd et al have worked tirelessly in the Leaseholders interests and have NO professional association with developers / Freeholders or ground rent portfolio merchants a seat on the board. IT STINKS!!!!!!!! Let us all keep immense pressure on those who treat us like village idiots. SOUTHAM MUST GO.
HOUSING MINISTER-ALOK. SHARMA MP. CONTACT:
Email- alok.sharma.mp@parliament.uk./ Tel-01189413803.
I shall be emailing Mr Sharna to voice my extreme displeasure at his inaction regarding the NLC’s letter and Southams appointment as Chairman of LEASE, a quango funded by the taxpayer. I hope thousands of others do the same!!
Can we please print the NLC letters to the housing Minster ???
Excellent idea!!