Michael Gove making his declaration that developers and the sector must pay to fix building safety defects on January 10
By Liam Spender
Liam Spender is a Trustee of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership. Personally affected by the cladding scandal, Liam is a Solicitor-Advocate and Senior Associate at Velitor Law practising commercial litigation and arbitration in the City of London. Views in this article are personal and do not constitute legal advice. Liam is unable to take individual cases or to give legal advice to individuals.
Joanne Darbyshire, co-founder of the National Leasehold Campaign, LKP trustee and ex-Taylor Wimpey customer who ended up with a rip-off doubling ground rent leasehold house.
By Joanne Darbyshire
To Peter Redfern, Taylor Wimpey CEO
cc Irene Dorner, Taylor Wimpey, chairman
Dear Mr Redfern,
I read with interest your press release of 22/12/21 headed “Agreement of voluntary undertakings with the CMA” in which you are quoted as saying: “Taylor Wimpey has always sought to do the right thing by its customers, shareholders and other stakeholders, and we are pleased that today’s voluntary undertakings will draw this issue to a full close, within our original financial provision.”
CMA Leasehold Investigation Closure ‧ Taylor Wimpey
An update from Taylor Wimpey On Wednesday 22 December 2021, Taylor Wimpey plc announced that the CMA’s investigation into the historical sale of leasehold properties with doubling ground rent clauses by the company is closed, following the agreement of voluntary undertakings.
Leaseholders who get their heating and hot water from communal systems face price hikes face of nearly 500%, and are unable to switch suppliers for a better deal.
They feel like “captives” who are being “extorted” by their “monopoly” providers, they tell the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.
At four Ballymore developments leaseholders, shared owners and renters are angry about sudden energy bill increases of nearly 500% from Communal Energy Partners, the provider formerly known as SE Energy, that was installed by the Irish developer-cum-freeholder.
Taylor Wimpey is to pay for fire safety improvement works at all its sites built over the past 20 years “irrespective of height or whether we retain a legal interest”.
Full letter here
Taylor Wimpey says “it has long been our view that customers and leaseholders should not bear the cost of investment to ensure that theur buildings are safe and mortgageable”.
The plc housebuilder assures Sir Peter Bottomley today:
“The scheme we have established means that Taylor Wimpey will fund and directly oversee the works in apartment buildings that are currently in our ownership, regardless of current eligibility for the UK Government Building Safety Fund.
Professor Susan Bright, of Oxford University, has been attending the LKP-organised All Party Parliamentary Group meetings on both leasehold reform and the post-Grenfell building safety crisis. In September 2019, Professor Bright hosted a conference of affected leaseholders, lawyers, safety experts and building engineers at Mansfield College
By Susan Bright
This note: 1. Sets out the context of the government’s ‘new’ approach; 2. Explains the proposed ‘Polluter Pays’ Amendment with a particular focus on the current crisis; and 3.
