By Sebastian OKelly, LKP trustee The controversial issues of ground rents and exit fees in retirement housing were discussed at this week’s meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform. These were the main event in a meeting which also had an insider’s examination of leasehold insurance commissions, and why developers […]
By Michael Voges, executive director ARCO Retirement event fees – a term used to describe exit fees on re-sale – align interests of buyers and operators and are the business model for retirement housing in New Zealand, Australia and the US, said Michael Voges, executive director of the trade body the Association of Retirement Community […]
By Clive Fenton, CEO McCarthy and Stone Mr Fenton was interviewed on this subject on BBC R4 You and Yours yesterday at 37 minutes in: Treatments for depression, Debt collection, Widebeam canal boats, You and Yours – BBC Radio 4 NHS treatments for depression and the bailiffs demanding payment of someone else’s debt. Hello, my […]
And grounds cannot be set to zero but maintained in the retirement sector By Joe Oldman, AgeUK Age UK strongly supports extending the range of housing options available for older people – so we want to see a significant expansion in good quality retirement schemes and villages. We also recognise and appreciate the efforts of […]
… What I want what was promised: my freehold for £5,000 Freehold owners are desperate to nobble the ground rent capitalisation rate before reforms By Joanne Darbyshire Speech at APPG on July 11 2018 Jo was also on BBC R4 You and Yours yesterday, which can be heard here at 35 mins in: Treatments for […]
UPDATE JULY 11: The Times reports that the NHBC caved in days after 220 leaseholders began legal proceedings to force the controversial warranty insurer to pay out. Leaseholder Nigel Pickford, 71, who spoke at our APPG in April and who lives in a £1 million apartment on the top floor of one of the blocks, […]
The National Leasehold Campaign has organised a demonstration to take place outside Westminster on Wednesday July 18 at 11am-2pm. Katie Kendrick, founder of the NLC, states: “It’s such a crucial time in the campaign. As decisions are being made about our futures in Parliament we feel it’s paramount government do not forget existing leaseholder’s who are caught […]
Another ground rent speculator, the Pemberstone Group, is seeking a tribunal ruling to dump Grenfell cladding costs on 300 leaseholders at two Manchester sites, reports The Independent today. The two sites are Cypress Place and Vallea Court in the so-called “Green Quarter” of the city. The sites were built by Australian builder Lendlease but the […]
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 […]
Yet another example of cronyism at work as 130 Persimmon staff share out a £300 million bonus thanks to spreading leasehold houses around the country. The company’s hilariously mis-named “long-term incentive plan” – short-term fill-yer-boots, would be more accurate – has already seen CEO Jeffrey Fairburn being awarded a £112 million bonus. The company’s regional […]
New Government funding schemes will no longer be able to use the money for unjustified new leasehold houses, in a continuing push to tackle unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system. The move was announced by Communities Secretary, The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, as he outlined the Government’s next steps towards delivering both […]
LKP is organising the first forum for leaseholders in private blocks with ACM cladding. The event will take place in Parliament on the 18th July from 6pm to 8pm. As well as hearing from the speakers the meeting will allow leaseholders from different sites with cladding problems and share theier experiences. It will also provide […]
Current number of members 151 + 10 friends Listed below are the members of the All Party Parliamentary Group looking into Leasehold and Commonhold reform in the new parliament. The list is updated as new members join and will be updated on this page throughout the parliament. Any member of parliament in the Commons or […]
As government – and the Law Commission – reel from a barrage of special pleading by housebuilders over the government’s proposals to set ground rents as low as zero, their lobbying efforts were considered in London’s Evening Standard yesterday. It featured contributions from the soon-to-be-let-go CEO of McCarthy and Stone Clive Fenton and Spencer McCarthy, […]
The prime minister addressed the Grenfell cladding issue in private blocks at parliamentary questions this afternoon, ‘ruling nothing out’ to get residential freeholders and developers to take responsibility rather than dump costs on leaseholders. She said that Barratt, Legal and General and Taylor Wimpey “are doing the right thing and taking responsibility”. The recognition of […]
And he is giving the proceeds to the National Leasehold Campaign and LKP Louie Burns (right), the pugnacious MD of Leasehold Solutions, has published an ebook guide today called “The leaseholder’s simple guide to leasehold”. Louie Burns is absolutely alone in the professional leasehold sector in deprecating this form of tenure, its repeated unfairness and […]
Brilliant interview with outgoing McCarthy and Stone CEO Clive Fenton ‘Problem’ that retirement housebuilders have not been spoonfed profits, like others through Help To Buy Anyway, aren’t retirement housebuilders insignificant given the numbers of pensioners who are downsizing today, asks BBC? Radio 4’s MoneyBox quizzed retirement housebuilders McCarthy and Stone and Churchill Retirement Living on […]
An excellent piece in the Sun by Hollie Borland, the Digital Consumer Reporter, appeared at the weekend giving a resume of the leasehold scandal pegged to the Which? report into the issue. It has the point that some leaseholders said they were charged £252 to own a pet or £60 to change a doorbell. But it […]