By Harry Scoffin Controversial freeholder Israel Moskovitz and his legal team were reprimanded in the property tribunal last month for failing to hand over £69,633.72 to a right to manage company. Bridge Court South RTM, 24-flats in Leyton, north-east London, won back half the contingency fund from the control of Mr Moskovitz’s manager Y and Y […]
What to do about the Grenfell cladding scandal, asks Oxford conference
Victoria, one of Australia’s eight states/ territories, has put aside £330m to remediate Grenfell cladding: England has come up with £200m By Sebastian O’Kelly Mansfield College, Oxford, hosted a fascinating one-day conference yesterday into the Grenfell tragedy and its devastating repercussions to flat owners in blocks with similar cladding across the world. Lawyers predominated, but […]
Battle for Canary Riverside resumes after court appointed manager steps down
The toxic disputes between leaseholders at Canary Riverside and their freehold owner John Christodoulou had another airing over three days in the property tribunal this week. At issue is the decision of Alan Coates, the highly respected veteran property manager, to stand down on health grounds from his section 24 court-appointed role to manage the […]
Tribunal to rule on whether West India Quay leaseholders are subbing the energy costs of the hotel below
Monaco-based freeholder John Christodoulou was in tribunal at the beginning of the month fighting the court appointed manager at Canary Riverside, last week he was back again in a row with leaseholders at West India Quay. The two prime London Docklands sites, both near Canary Wharf, have witnessed repeated acrimony between the residential leaseholders and […]
Officials fail to stop LKP publishing legal opinions on flawed reform of Recognised Tenants’ Associations (RTAs)
A last minute attempt to stop LKP from publishing three legal opinions extremely critical of the government’s bungled reform to Recognised Tenants’ Associations failed last week. The government introduced a statutory instrument in October that has actually made the position of leaseholders worse. The failing was referenced in the Commons by Sir Peter Bottomley with […]
War of attrition continues between Canary Riverside freeholder John Christodoulou and the court-appointed manager …
Two years after the leaseholders at Canary Riverside thought that they had escaped from the clutches of freeholder John Christodoulou after they secured a court-appointed managing agent, the legal wrangling continues. This week saw the 19th day in tribunal since Monaco-based freeholder John Christodoulou lost control of the site’s management in October 2016, when his […]
Lawyers offer pro bono aid to leaseholder facing QC in £24,000 dispute in Upper Tribunal
Solicitor Mari Knowles and barrister Justin Bates have offered their services pro bono to leaseholder Michelle Baharier who is fighting a £24,000 Upper Tribunal case against a QC. The lawyers, who are both working on the leasehold reform agenda at the Law Commission, stepped in after reading the case on the LKP website today. Michelle […]
Law Commission: no problem employing barrister Justin Bates to reform right to manage, while he sets about stuffing another one …
The Law Commission has rejected a concern raised by LKP that barrister Justin Bates is employed to reform right to manage legislation while engaged by an offshore landlord to try to prevent yet another one. Mr Bates was a controversial choice by the Law Commission in the view of some leaseholders as he has established […]
Right to Manage added to the ever growing list of leasehold reforms
LKP is very pleased that today sees the launch of the Law Commision review of the now broken right to manage legislation. The full press release from the Law Commision is set out below: Law reform needed to help leaseholders take control of their buildings Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has asked the Law Commission to […]
Israel Moskovitz loses epic Elim Court right to manage battle in landmark Court of Appeal decision
Elim Court, a retirement site in Plymouth, learned today that it had won its epic battle for right to manage in the Court of Appeal against its landlord Israel Moskovitz. His Avon Freeholds Limited managed the site through Y and Y Management, run by business associate Joseph Gurvits. Y and Y is a management company […]
‘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 […]
The day the Leasehold Advisory Service was returned to leaseholders
– Sector insiders paying £350 each at LEASE’s ‘annual conference’ are told by housing minister Gavin Barwell that leaseholders are the priority – It will be given the funds to do its job properly without pandering to the commercial interests in leasehold – Onerous ground rents wrong, says minister. But chartered surveyor valuers tell audience how to […]
ARMA conference ‘worried’ that developers are exploiting new home owners
The annual conference of ARMA held yesterday in central London was the most rigorous and clear-eyed discussion of leasehold and its many defects yet held by a trade body in the sector. At one point in the proceedings, the audience of 550 managing agents, lawyers, senior civil servants and … two trustees of the Leasehold […]
John Christodoulou minions get the boot at Canary Riverside
– Controversial freeholder loses Docklands jewel – Court-appointed managing agent takes over today – Damning criticisms of ‘failures to manage the properties’ – Revenue streams lost (… Now what about West India Quay which has the same set-up?) Monaco-based freehold owner John Christodoulou failed in the Upper Tribunal yesterday (September 30) to stop a court-appointed […]
Right to manage in chaos after Court of Appeal decision
UPDATED with analysis of the decision below Right to manage legislation is in chaos following Friday’s Court of Appeal decision to prevent RTM companies from managing more than one building at a site. The decision drives a hole through current RTM legislation and, in LKP’s view, can only be addressed with primary legislation. It means […]
No.1 Deansgate wins epic RTM battle, as freeholder throws in the towel at the Court of Appeal
The freeholder of Manchester’s prime No.1 Deansgate blinked first and dropped a Court of Appeal action to block a right to manage application. Residents at No.1 Deansgate, who include footballers Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville, Corrie star Helen Worth and Take That singer Jason Orange – have already spent £30,000 on the RTM marathon.
