By Harry Scoffin
Leaseholding and poor mental health was the lead story on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme on Friday.
Hot on the heels of the government’s announcement of a ban on leasehold houses and new legislation to set ground rent at zero for future flats, the current affairs show explored the problems faced by those already caught up in the property trap.
‘House dispute has given me anxiety’
More than two-thirds of people who have encountered issues with their leasehold feel anxious about their future, a survey by the National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) suggests. For some, disputes have led to suicidal thoughts. “It absolutely drains you. It makes you feel a failure, that you can’t do anything,” ‘Lisa’ – not her real name – told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme.
The nearly 20-minute feature was based on a National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) mental health survey of 1,157 leasehold tenants.
SOS Suicide of Silence, the mental wellbeing charity who analysed the results, found that:
- Nearly one in five leaseholders (17%) have had suicidal thoughts because of their leasehold problems. One per cent say the issue makes them feel suicidal daily, four per cent are frequently suicidal and 12 per cent occasionally
- Nearly three-quarters of leaseholders (72%) are very anxious and worried about their future with nine out of 10 (90%) saying they think about their leasehold problems every day. Only two per cent of leaseholders are not anxious or worried with one in five (20%) saying they are slightly anxious and six per cent of respondents who try not to think about it
- Unsurprisingly, 96 per cent say they feel uncertain about their future because of their leasehold with nearly half (49%) thinking about it every day, over a quarter (28%) frequently and 19% sometimes
- Almost all (92%) have no faith in the legal system to protect them, whilst seven per cent are optimistic that they will be protected
Fronted by journalist Colleen Harris, the Victoria Derbyshire report opened with the observation that “where we live can influence our health and wellbeing … in recent years a groundswell of complaints has emerged that some developers and freeholders are imposing doubling ground rents, high or unclear service charges and one-off bills.”
Ms Harris gave a fluent explanation of leasehold:
“Leasehold is the main form of tenure for flats in England and Wales, that means the freeholder owns the land and everything on it, and owning a lease allows you to live in a property for a set period of time with many restrictions … A leasehold owner is in a tenant-landlord relationship with the freeholder.”
One interviewed leaseholder said he has been suffering from anxiety “and I’ve never experienced anxiety before – but it’s all linked to the property.”
“The thing is, I had to save for that deposit like anyone buying a freehold property would. I pay my mortgage exactly the same as somebody who would have a freehold, but I am treated like a rental tenant,” he added.
ARMA’s Nigel Glen: service charges and major works do have to be paid for
The film was followed by a discussion between Nigel Glen, of the Association of Residential Managing Agents, and NLC founder Katie Kendrick.
Caroline Holmes, a former shared ownership lessee who was made homeless because of uncapped and surging bills, joined via video link from Israel.
Presenter Joanna Gosling challenged Ms Kendrick on whether the problems with leasehold were as widespread as she suggests since “there are millions of people living in leasehold properties,” to which the leasehold campaigner responded:
“Well, you say it works fine. But people are yet to have that ‘penny drop’ moment and it may not be until that unknown bill comes through the letter box or that they want to sell, or need to sell, their property that they realise that actually it [the leasehold scandal] does impact on them.
“And this is what we are trying to do: to raise awareness of the bigger leasehold issues that people don’t actually realise impacts on them, and will impact on their futures.”
Mr Glen refused to be drawn on the mental health implications of leaseholding and instead spoke about the necessity of paying service charges and other bills related to building upkeep.
The ARMA head called for government to override deficient leases by making it a statutory requirement for all residential leasehold blocks to have a reserve fund “set by an independent third party”, such as a surveyor.
He also claimed that consumer homebuyers often move into their leasehold flat completely “unaware that they have to pay these charges”.
Speaking as a former managing agent, Mr Glen claimed that it was not uncommon for leaseholders to resist service charge demands.
Ms Kendrick responded by drawing attention to the fact that the vast majority of leaseholders do not have a relationship with the managing agent because it works for the third-party freehold landlord. Leaseholders are, therefore, not the client.
No one is arguing against major works, she said, but the lack of transparency around these one-off bills. If leaseholders had control over what they pay, they would have more confidence in the service charges regime.
Related posts:
Leasehold injustices on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show
Victoria Derbyshire told ‘we must end cheating speculators in leasehold housing’
Barking Riverside fire survivors round on secretive freeholder Adriatic Land, reports BBC R4
Campaign to get government to help fund Grenfell cladding removal
Demo at First-Time Buyers show warns of developers’ leasehold rip-offs
Boris’s PR gurus Crosby Textor have NOT been nobbling government over ground rents (well, not since autumn 2017 anyway …)
Imagine the anxiety with commonhold, knowing you there is nobody to support you financially or professionally. It doesn’t get any worse unless your name is Mr Kendrick
This survey is a scandal and an abuse of people with real issues like my son. Disgusting that you attach yourselves to a serious issue for more free airtime
As Nigel Agreed Commonhold would enable people to “be in charge of their own destiny”.
This is not something the current leasehold system allows.
There will still be a significant role for a management agent in the Commonhold system. The management agent will work for the owners and professional management company can continue to provide the support you mentioned.
Not all management companies are bad. There are some good ones. But we do not need a 3rd party freeholder dictating.
How does having a freeholder support you financially ?? Please do explain
Please keep Mr Kendrick out of this discussion. My personal life has nothing to do with this.
I can assure you these are very REAL issues that leaseholders face every day. So please do not be little anyone that is struggling emotionally because of this situation.
I work in mental health so I do not need a lecture on trigger factors or a definition of anxiety.
The leasehold system is rotten and leaseholders have had enough.
Honestly not just me but my partner also start suffering with anxiety and depression because of all this situation and I think will lose our home simply because we don’t have anymore power to fight this…is hard …is expensive and we end up not been able with the costs since we take the house we are more in debt then when we rented …
I am disgusted that you have are making this personal by bringing in someone’s private life.
How dare you belittle a survey that has found people that have and want to commit suicide.
I have been personally affected by this and I would NEVER make a personal comment like you have.
I wish you well with your story and ask that you respect the stories of others or just don’t read them…
Oh dear Emily is living in another reality. Where were those professional supporting landlords during the Grenfell cladding scandal?……..it`s the developers or now us tax payers that has taken up the cause for remedial work. Ask the dangerous clad buildings leaseholders how they feel about the support they have got!
As in Scotland, those common holders went straight to the developers, under a threat of legal action and hey presto they coughed up!
In reality, the freeholders are a bunch of professional shysters skimming off the to of the housing system, a layer of which is just not necessary.
I have no doubt that leaseholders do suffer serious anxiety over their position, especially if it incurs debt or unknown charges, inability to sell or feeling foolish for being had over when they took all reasonable steps during conveyancing.
I am sorry but you are embarrassing yourself. This is a very serious situation and you are making a cheap attack on a lady who has been fighting anonymous offshore corporations is pathetic. Grow up.
Emily or could it be Stephen
Your remarks are ignorant and offensive.
The theat of bankruptcy and no control over charges and the future can cause extreme anxiety.depression and suicide.
To call leaseholders who fill in these surveys as malingerers and liars not worthy of compassion is sinking to a new low.as a humane person
Is “Emily” a troll? I am guessing so, otherwise why would anyone dismiss the distress of a large group of people out of hand without understanding the issues? How low to stoop to use the private lives of someone speaking on behalf of the many thousands of us in this awful situation.
Pretty pathetic “Emily”, this is about as low as you can go
Emily Blackhurst – would you like to give us your real name? And can you please confirm that you are not an investor in residential freeholds? We have no time for those who use England’s ancient property laws to speculate in ordinary people’s homes…
Just watched the programme.
So a reserve fund saves all surprises?
We had one of those. A new agent employed themselves for most work and spent the reserve in six months, thank you. No way for any one lessee to prove all the work was done let alone at reasonable cost. Don’t assume a tribunal interprets ‘reasonable’ per the dictionary.
I liked Joanna’s description of ARMA as the link between lessees and landlords. Who researches for these programmes?
Uncle Sajid once said about 1.5 billion in service charges were overcharged. Beeb mustn’t have noticed.
Who will licence agents? ARMA? Lease?
Joanna also said the majority of leaseholders had no problems.
?
First, who wants to admit problems when they might want to sell on to another sucker? That’s how leasehold works. It’s not the first lessee of a relatively inexpensive to maintain block who suffers. But they have to find the next buyer.
A lot of problems don’t end up at court so who knows the true problem?
The Beeb can’t have seen the surveys that revealed the majority of lessees regretted buying leasehold and didn’t trust their agents.
I still see no reliable signs that anything will improve in English leasehold. It is the perfect money maker for freeholders, agents, and contractors alike.
My glass is half full of warm brandy as the only sensible solution.
How can ARMA possibly act as a “regulator” when they hold swanky dinners and awards nights for those they are supposed to regulate?
My problem exactly. I have a clause in my lease requiring a maintenance reserve to be in place, and all aspects of potential major works to be in it. Plus consumer promises they will survey the site every three years to check. There were some niggles, and a warning bell with a painting contract, but it wasn’t too bad.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, we get a 10, 000 bill for a retaining wall to be replaced. The wall has been there at least over a hundred years. They have wiped out the maintenance reserve completely and put us £80, 000 in debt (10 flats). What I am unable to find so far, and believe me I’ve looked, is one single person that will regulate anything. I have now been forced into the First-Tier tribunal system and I’m struggling to cope. There is more involved in my situation, but certainly in terms of the point made here, putting a requirement in for a maintenance reserve, won’t help. If anything, it just makes it harder to challenge things and makes them less transparent..
This is not a rogue landlord and managing agent by the way, they are a large social housing landlord. They built the flats on the site in 1999. The work needed doing, apparently, just 15 years later. If they refuse to regulate fairly, leasehold has to go. I think the market is beginning to catch up now anyway.
Emily Blackhurst,
I believe passionately in free speech. I positively welcome alternative views.
Can I just say in relation to your post, I just want to vomit!
Thanks to Katie and the NLC group I no longer feel too much anxiety or stress over the mis-selling of my house. I feel for people who are in a worse position then me especially people who are living in flats. I was down, upset and had anxiety when I found out what the developer had done with my freehold. I can’t imagine what people are like in combustible cladded flats or with extremely high ground rents and service charges. I’m not sure what your post was about Emily but I can assure you Katie is not doing this for fun or to get air time, this is a serious issue and is raising awareness.
Omg how dare you belittle this survey , I’ve personally had sleepless night for the past three years with this Leasehold nightmare . My anxiety levels have been through the roof ,and I’ve never suffered before with anxiety , My marriage has suffered , my family life has suffered . This has immensely affected my whole family in such a negative way
Emily Blackhurst – I have no idea why reporting the negative impacts leasehold has on peoples’ mental health would have any relevance at all to your son’s situation, distressing as that may be.
As others have said, the remote freeholders have hardly rushed forward to try to help people still living in buildings with flammable cladding on the exterior, 2 years after Grenfell.
Emily Blackhurst… who on earth are you? You obviously do not have the first idea of what commonhold is or how much we need this as an important tenure along with freehold. And please do not even think about any more underhand, thoughtless comments about Katie Kendrick and the NLC that help so so many suffering leaseholders. Please learn a your subject before comment.
Emily Blackhurst and Jimmy Brokenshire are using an IP address in Greece.
This is a troll. Now which aggressive and oafish defender of freeholders’ interests currently on his hols usually corresponds like this? Ah, yes, now all is clear ….
Is service charge (which is for services) and ground rent (which is typically less than £1 a day) not just the proverbial straw on the camels back? One would sensibly think if these issues are contributing factors to these mental health issues and not the underlying cause. If the inability to pay these costs is a trigger then surely much larger bills such as the mortgage, utilities, council tax, food, general repairs, motor expenses etc etc would be causing at least equal issues. Are we looking at a class of individuals who are more inclined to simply struggle with many of the demands of modern life and responsibility than the specifics of leasehold? The survey would incorrectly imply that there are huge numbers of people with suicidal thoughts and anxiety (the latter being a modern day condition which cannot easily be tested) which is unlikely to be correct. What was the base data for the survey – I’d guess it was a bunch of people with issues already which is therefore not representative of the wider populace and cannot be held up as evidence. It certainly wouldn’t pass any of the stringent peer reviews that the medical or science industries would require
This is not intended to be a rant, it’s more to give balance to what is a serious issue that is being used as a cover story to promote another cause. I’m sure many professionals would deem it irresponsible in its nature as “behavioural contagion” will now lead others to now feel they have issues they previously presented no symptoms of and therefore exaggerate the problems rather than reduce. How can something help people by making more people suffer the same condition?
You’re right….. If we abolish leasehold then that’s one less thing to worry about.
If you own your property (freehold/commonhold) then you can either run it properly, sell and leave or use your bank to add to the mortgage if required.
With leasehold costs rise and rise, people can’t leave or sell and then forfeiture is on the horizon and you lose everything.
Wonder where the anxiety, stress and suicidal thoughts come from I wonder…..
People just want to own and run their property and if they struggle they can sell up and leave. Leasehold is a dangerous game if you’re in it, it’s got to go.
Brian. Imagine you lived in a private block with cladding.
Fire Marshall’s and remedial work is not a few pounds but thousands and uncapped
You too might feel suicidal. as I would
Where is the milk of human kindness in those that perpetuate specious support for toxic leasehold law
With normal bills (mortgage, utilities, council tax etc) people can do something about it e.g. switch providers, defer payments or if all else fails sell the property. i.e. there are options.
Leaseholders are trapped – huge difference.
The properties can’t be sold because mortgages are no longer available.
They can’t dispute charges.
Many can’t sue solicitors, it’s a huge risk and often expensive.
That will have a huge impact on anyone’s mental health.
The recent Select Committee enquiry had some shocking evidence, people were so trapped they were contemplating suicide to ensure their children would not be burdened by their leasehold property. When things like that are happening – change is urgently required.
I would have thought being a financial slave paying many thousands of pounds each year to mafia style freeholders and their managing agents, little control over increasing costs, inadequate justice or redress, and great difficulty in escaping from this slavery would make most people feel anxious or depressed. That is the reality of leasehold for many.
LKP has an inclusiveness policy so no gender specific criticism please “Emily” you should know better.
We assume “Emily” will be back at his/her desk in the Greater Manchester area soon. Interesting choice of surname?
“Emily” like many of her/his kind seem not to understand the stress caused by “professional” landlords who look to make a profit from other people’s homes and offer very few professional skills. A commonhold site of any size will employ a professional agent who no longer has to work to serve the opposing interests of the landlord and the tenant. An agent employed to look after the best interests of the building – what a radical idea.
I am the son of a leaseholder. I know the mental health implications of leaseholding. Leasehold means you do not actually benefit from land value uplift. You are a glorified tenant – yet pay a mortgage and have other housing costs to meet. You are paying to ‘maintain’ a building that is owned by someone else. Why would anyone willingly sign up to this arrangement? Leasehold preys on those with the home ownership dream. Your capital value and rental yield is dependent on the conduct of your third-party freeholder and his managing agent. High service charges eat into both. Poor estate management eats into both. If the apartment building looks like a slum, maybe because the freehold landlord is using it as a cash flow, then no renter or buyer will want to buy into the scheme. You have no control over this… The fear of a new costly major works scheme that looks like collusive tendering is not something I would wish on anyone! Unregulated reserve fund monies. The whole premise of leasehold is wrong. Living under these feudal rules can cause great distress. Leaseholders are in a monopolistic situation. There is no control over bills we have to pay. Many lessees have to go to court to change providers. In what other part of the economy is this standard? On our site, we cannot change the provider unless we push for section 24. A high-risk and high-cost venture… But it is currently the only way to get a steward of the site who we can trust. Self-determination is out of the question for us. We have NO ability to pursue right to manage or enfranchisement opportunities because of silly 25% rule on non-residential premises. We are trapped unless we sell at an inappropriate discount. And why should we do that? We love the neighbourhood and the property is a wow.
It is good as we become more aware of mental health issues, the stress and fatigue caused to leaseholders by some freeholders and managing agents is rightly being brought to the fore.
Bearing that in mind, imagine a senior property manager, training junior staff at retirement developments telling them that if they are ever asked awkward question, either to not answer or delay answering long enough that the resident either “dies or gets dementia?”
Would such a person be deemed suitable for a senior role with ARMA?
I wonder what Nigel Glen would say?
May I put the case for leasehold. The trickle down economic theory is a proven means of enriching us all, and that includes leaseholders. How this theory works is simple, take money from ordinary people and give it to an elite group of already rich people.
On the surface this practise appears crazy, bear with me. It is established that ordinary people are wasteful and use their money in non-productive ways, they spend their money on things like food and heating, and in so doing benefit nobody but themselves The elite and rich, however, spend their money in productive ways, on servants, expensive yachts, and high end motor cars. Who are the servants, who builds the yachts and high end motor cars? We are the servants, we build the yachts and high end motor cars, thus we are enriched by the economic activity of these worthy and noble people.
Leasehold is part and parcel of the proven trickle down theory which has benefited us all Tinker with it at your cost. Know your place, leaseholders, leave the clever stuff to clever people.
Sounds like a comedy sketch from the New Statesman. 🙂
I can even hear this in Rik Mayall’s voice…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9CO65EmNGs