Should the Government act NOW to reform leasehold? LEASEHOLD SCANDAL

nicleanne2004UK

Sold my freehold property in 2002. Miss-sold my flat in 2004, was never told by solicitors that I would have to pay Major Works , , only the Service Charges would be reasonable. In 2007 the Council sold my flat to a Housing Association, which billed me for works which are never done. My Service Charges have gone up so much that I went into forfeit in Lockdown and had to pay £11,500 so my mortgage is right back to 2004 when I first purchased my flat. I received my Service Charge bill for 2019/2020 and the HA have added additional costs door service, criminal damages and in the past mould and rat infestation. 

I have been fighting this for 13 years now and it’s financially and mentally draining me I have lost £30k. I have no partner to help me, I’m dealing with all this alone.
Leasehold is a scandal and needs abolishing, we pay out our hard earned money for nothing. My flat is worth nothing and I feel trapped I will eventually go bankrupt. 

simondv

ftbhopes said:

simondv said:

ftbhopes said:

maximaxi7 said:

Leasehold is just life destroying for many people, and simply an excuse to extort money at every opportunity.  Most buyers never had the full implications explained to them during the sales process ( and yes they knew they were buying leasehold) before the trolls jump in. These implications include ridiculously over inflated  lease extensions, permission fees etc etc. In addition to the employment of unscrupulous management companies, who have caused no end of misery for leaseholders. End this antiquated system now, the gravy train needs to be derailed. 

There are many problems with leasehold but to say it’s comparable with slavery is offensive. It’s so disappointing to see Katie propagate this comparison.  I’ve been a member of the NLC FB group for a couple of years which I’m now considering leaving. As someone said early, the comparison is both stupid and offensive. 

"Slave to my work, slave to the kitchen", not offensive or stupid used in context.
Some people need to not be so sensitive and grow up. We are stifled these days by woke nonsense. Nobody here is condoning slavery in any shape or form or belittling the terrible suffering of slaves in the past or now.
If the word hostage was used as in "hostage to fortune" more people would probably get upset.

‘Slave to the kitchen, slave to work’ are words in context, take a different meaning. The link provided DIRECTLY links to the historic and barbaric forms of slavery and the text with the post was ‘draws parallels to’

‘Sensitive and grow up?’ 

From a campaign talking in hysterical terms connecting their homeownership suffering to slavery? 

You need to stop over-reacting, get a back bone and have a lie down.

dnees

davidmcn said:

I must have missed the bit where the slaves willingly signed up to a contract after getting independent legal advice.

If you get ‘independent legal advice’ what do you think you are paying for as a purchaser? The reality is that the majority of leaseholders have been totally unaware they would never own that property, that they would be much worse off than a person who rents. Independent legal advisers are really quite happy not to explain what a lease is, they have to make a living, people simply would not buy leasehold if they understood what they were buying! Renters can walk away, leaseholders can not just walk away. Extending a lease is an absolute joke, and god knows how many leaseholders have been conned into extending informally by their landlord with no  legal protection . We like so so many leaseholders had no idea we would ever need to extend the lease! You may say we were stupid, but lease has been around for so so long, it’s wormed it’s way deep into our society. Everyone I know have been shocked when I told them we needed to extend our lease or we’d never sell it, and they have been even more shocked to hear if we could afford to extend our lease after having lived in the property for 38 years it will cost us 90,000 including costs..... and how is it fair that leaseholders have to by law pay their landlords costs? 

dnees

Comms69 said:

No. The govt shouldn't get involved in nonsense where people cant read a contract - that's their problem. 

The government has got involved, they have already spent a lot of money on the enquiry into leasehold miselling, and found it to be true and a real insidious practice that needs abolishing. The government have also asked the Law Commission to suggest ways in which leasehold can be made fair for existing leaseholders until commonhold tenure takes over. It’s coming, leasehold has no place in a fair society. Landlord freeholders should not be allowed by law to make their living for tiny investments in to hard working peoples homes as they do. 

dnees

ftbhopes said:

maximaxi7 said:

Leasehold is just life destroying for many people, and simply an excuse to extort money at every opportunity.  Most buyers never had the full implications explained to them during the sales process ( and yes they knew they were buying leasehold) before the trolls jump in. These implications include ridiculously over inflated  lease extensions, permission fees etc etc. In addition to the employment of unscrupulous management companies, who have caused no end of misery for leaseholders. End this antiquated system now, the gravy train needs to be derailed. 

There are many problems with leasehold but to say it’s comparable with slavery is offensive. It’s so disappointing to see Katie propagate this comparison.  I’ve been a member of the NLC FB group for a couple of years which I’m now considering leaving. As someone said early, the comparison is both stupid and offensive. 

Many people that are leaseholders know how it feels to be ‘owned’ as a leaseholder you have no power, you do as your told, you pay up what is demanded or you are made to leave your home, it’s all lawful and so much more, I could go on! So do my comments here remind you of anything? If you want to get offended, that’s your business, but there are many more that would have gone down the tubes if it wasn’t for The NLC and Katie Kendrick! 

dnees

ftbhopes said:

Katiejane13uk said:

ftbhopes said:

maximaxi7 said:

Leasehold is just life destroying for many people, and simply an excuse to extort money at every opportunity.  Most buyers never had the full implications explained to them during the sales process ( and yes they knew they were buying leasehold) before the trolls jump in. These implications include ridiculously over inflated  lease extensions, permission fees etc etc. In addition to the employment of unscrupulous management companies, who have caused no end of misery for leaseholders. End this antiquated system now, the gravy train needs to be derailed. 

There are many problems with leasehold but to say it’s comparable with slavery is offensive. It’s so disappointing to see Katie propagate this comparison.  I’ve been a member of the NLC FB group for a couple of years which I’m now considering leaving. As someone said early, the comparison is both stupid and offensive. 

If you don't support the aims of the group then please do leave the NLC. 

Regards 

Katie 

I do/ did support the aims of the group and deadly against the system we have. I do not support the method and as you’ve now directly linked the aims of your group against my comments to the offensive comparisons I will gladly leave the group and bring this to anyone who mentions NLC

Somehow I don’t think you are a leaseholder

Bazurk

I have a leasehold flat that we were tricked in to buy being enticed to use the developers own legal team. 

They’re cahoots and definitely NOT independent. This is a well know abs documented sales technique from developers and the first chess move in the scam.
The sting in the tail is that most large developers are also your new landlord and also your managing agent. 

Take Persimmon, E&M and Firstport / Peverel as an example- We all know who Ultimately owns all 3.
leaseholders are cash cows to anonymous offshore tax havens and there’s no other way to butter that up. 

The pro-leasehold comments on here are clearly developers or their lobbyists. I’m glad you’re all here. 

This is a our time for revolution and resolution.

Your gravy train is pulling in to the final station 🚉 

hazyjo

Surprised to see so much blame - if I were a solicitor I would not expect to have to explain to someone spending tens or more likely hundreds of thousands of pounds what "leasehold" means or entails.

Surely it's is up to a buyer to be aware of what its meaning and what "years left on a lease" refers to, or "service charge/ground rent"). It's hardly a scam (nor rocket science), it's the way flats are bought in England.

I worked it out aged 21 before the Internet.

Who doesn't expect to have to contribute to future major works? Who do people think pays?!

If you don't like leasehold, don't buy one!

(Leasehold houses are a different discussion.)

Really don't know why I'm biting. It's just so niggly I can't keep it in.

davidmcn

dnees said:

davidmcn said:

I must have missed the bit where the slaves willingly signed up to a contract after getting independent legal advice.

If you get ‘independent legal advice’ what do you think you are paying for as a purchaser? The reality is that the majority of leaseholders have been totally unaware they would never own that property, that they would be much worse off than a person who rents. Independent legal advisers are really quite happy not to explain what a lease is, they have to make a living, people simply would not buy leasehold if they understood what they were buying! Renters can walk away, leaseholders can not just walk away. Extending a lease is an absolute joke, and god knows how many leaseholders have been conned into extending informally by their landlord with no  legal protection . We like so so many leaseholders had no idea we would ever need to extend the lease! You may say we were stupid, but lease has been around for so so long, it’s wormed it’s way deep into our society. Everyone I know have been shocked when I told them we needed to extend our lease or we’d never sell it, and they have been even more shocked to hear if we could afford to extend our lease after having lived in the property for 38 years it will cost us 90,000 including costs..... and how is it fair that leaseholders have to by law pay their landlords costs? 

Sounds like your complaint is more about the poor quality of advice you've had - which is something tenure-neutral, I think. You don't need to look far on this forum to see people irked by what they weren't told about freehold properties.

Angiet477

I got caught up in this Leasehold scandal when I moved here from Scotland to England in 2017.I had no idea that the home I bought would actually belong to some other unknown person. I paid them my life savings for the pleasure of staying in their house. How can this be allowed to happen to vulnerable buyers. I was told by the agent that this is the way houses are sold here. The next year houses on the second phase of the estate were sold as Freehold! I believe I was miss sold. Why does the Government allow homebuyers be duped into this scam in 2020?