A summit of all parties is desperately needed as MHCLG dismisses ARMA / IRPM figures on scale of crisis
The Sunday Times produced what leaseholders might think was an unanswerable article this week into the devastating costs faced by leaseholders caught up in the build safety crisis.
The paper reported that 1.3m flats are unmortgagable – 5% of homes in UK – and that figures from the property managers tasked with carrying out these works demonstrate that leaseholders must pay “impossible sums” of £27,000 each to fix smaller blocks and more than £14,000 for unfunded fire risks in tall buildings.
An unutterably sad window into a life … A man who committed suicide and whose body was left undiscovered in his flat in Kettering for more than two years had his lease forfeited by the landlord.
The man had led a reclusive life for some years following the death of his son in a cycling accident aged 12.
It was only when bailiffs broke into the property to enforce forfeiture that the dead man’s body was discovered.
Now Tchenguiz, Long Harbour, E&J Capital Partners, Wallace Estates etc can do the same …
The Competition and Markets Authority announced a major break-through today against rip-off rents: Aviva is to remove doubling ground rent clauses, re-set ground rents to what they were when originally bought AND repay contributions made in excess of this.
Leaseholders should now put pressure on other freeholders – Tchenguiz, Wallace, E&J and the rest – to do the same.
What happened when the ground rent wasn’t paid in Ireland, 1888
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 unfortunately unable to give legal advice to individuals, or to take individual cases.
