Latest news with #leasehold
Times
23-07-2025
- Business
- Times
A neighbour is blocking our property sale — what can we do?
We are leaseholders of a downstairs maisonette in a building where we also have a share of the freehold. We are selling the property but the joint freeholder, who owns the flat upstairs, is refusing to co-operate. She is making unreasonable and ever-changing demands, such as demanding payment, access to our garden, cancellation of a previous debt and alterations to the lease. She has refused to sign the TR1 [ownership transfer form] to transfer the freehold share to our buyer, effectively blocking the sale. In the past, she has been abusive towards us and our tenants, resulting in police involvement and an Asbo. She is now refusing to communicate or engage in mediation, leaving us unable to proceed. We are seeking advice on how to resolve this deadlock. What legal options do we have to enable the sale of our property?DP • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement This is an extremely challenging situation and you have my sympathy. There are no easy or perfect answers but I have set out some possible options for you below: The real challenge for you is that you need simultaneously to resolve two problems: the refusal to sign the TR1 and the difficulty of physically selling the home. Dealing with the (easier) TR1 issue first, it is possible to make a relatively straightforward application to court under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. Section 14 enables the court to make an order for sale of the freehold without the co-freeholder's signature on the TR1. Turning to the issue of actually making the sale, you could issue a claim against your neighbour, seeking an injunction restraining her from causing a nuisance. However, not only would that be expensive and somewhat risky, there is no guarantee it would convince prospective buyers that nuisance issues would not reoccur. And a buyer might be concerned about potential issues when they themselves come to sell the property. One alternative is to sell the property in an auction. Via that method, you could find a buyer who is willing to overlook potential issues, for example an investor who doesn't intend to occupy the property. You may have to sell for less than you would like but at least you would have resolved the problem. One other option — subject to your budget, obviously — would be to offer to buy the neighbour's flat. You would then control the whole property. I realise that your neighbour has proven difficult to negotiate with, but at this point nothing should be off the table. I do hope you manage to find a Cracknell, partner, Russell-Cooke, I've had dark grey limestone paving laid on my new terrace. I left a tree in the middle of the terrace for the birds to enjoy. However, the birds are seriously disrespecting my new paving — even a low-pressure hose used daily doesn't remove their mess completely. I've tried hanging reflective deterrent rods in the tree, and also photos of birds of prey, but these haven't worked. Short of removing the tree, do readers have any tips for cleaning the bird mess effectively without damaging the paving?SB Get a decoy bird (such as a hawk) and mount it on a stake close to the tree in question. Ideally, move the decoy around regularly to stop the birds getting familiar with it, and keep it as high up as possible. Most garden centres sell Evans Sprinkle cheap supermarket biological washing powder on the wet paving. Leave for an hour or so. Brush. Sluice. Works a treat. And no harm to the stone. J Walters Use a diluted solution of Wet & Forget mould remover (£12.50, Simply spray on the paving when dry (and no rain is forecast for a few hours). The solution should keep the paving clean and new-looking for some Hollowday I fold strips of silver foil (into three to make them rigid) and attach them to the branches of my fruit trees. The birds get spooked by the strips flapping in the wind. Much less hassle and far kinder than directing a hose at How can I remove oily head-hair marks from the surface of an aniline leather sofa?Brian Hayward I've bought a new kitchen and have chosen Ikea carcasses and bespoke fronts from a specialist company. The carcasses have been installed but I'll have to wait about three months before the fronts arrive. Do any readers have tips for living with a kitchen without door fronts for this amount of time? Or any affordable temporary solutions?Veronica, Leyton Send tips and questions to homehelp@ Advice given without responsibility
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Leasehold reforms ‘breach human rights', freeholders tell High Court
Freeholders have launched a legal challenge against the Government over claims that leasehold reforms breach human rights law and will leave them millions of pounds worse off. Landowners – including two charities who own the freeholds of thousands of flats – on Tuesday told the High Court that plans to abolish 'marriage value' and ground rents could cost them millions of pounds. The six claimants said the measures contravened freeholders' rights to enjoy private property, as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LAFRA) reforms were introduced under the previous Conservative government and passed into law last year. The legislation made it cheaper and easier for homeowners in England and Wales to extend their leases or buy freeholds, banned new leaseholds and effectively abolished ground rent for new leases. The reforms also introduced a ban on marriage value to make it cheaper for leaseholders to extend short leases. Marriage value is the increase in a property's worth when a leaseholder buys the freehold or extends its lease once there are fewer than 80 years left on it. Under previous rules, leaseholders would pay half of the increase in the value of their property to the freeholder at the point of extending the lease. But the landowners argued that the measures could cost them hundreds of millions of pounds, and that they were not receiving adequate compensation for the shortfall. Among the claimants, which included property firms Cadogan Group and Grosvenor Group, was John Lyons, a youth charity. The company said it relied on revenue from its leasehold properties, and that the reforms had put the charity's future under threat. The London-based charity said: '[This case] is really critical to our asset base and our grant-giving. We're the largest funder of children's and young people's charities in London – this means that 10pc of our grant-making (£1.4m) will have to be cut back if this legislation goes through, and we're not exempted. ' We're not a typical freeholder – we don't make profits. All freeholders are being lumped together, as if we all have the same characteristics – we don't.'` Leaseholders, who can face uncapped service charges and the threat of removal from their property if they do not pay ground rent alongside expensive lease renewal costs, have been desperate for major reform for decades. But campaigners now fear that the hearing could significantly delay further changes promised by the Government as part of its election-winning manifesto. As well as a ban on new leasehold flats and marriage value, the Government said it would strengthen leaseholders' rights to buy their freehold, make commonhold the default tenure for homeownership, cap ground rents and remove the threat of forfeiture – which can see leaseholders removed from a property if they do not pay ground rent. There are currently around 4.8 million leaseholders in England, the majority of whom are flat owners. Harry Scoffin, founder of campaign group Free Leaseholders, said: 'It's outrageous. They bang on about human rights, but these guys are big corporations, trying to prop up a system destroying leaseholders' human rights. 'It's an affront to democracy – an elected Conservative government got this through with cross-party consensus. They are also trying to get the Government to back down on their manifesto commitment to end the leasehold system. 'This is about letting people own their homes outright, and not be at the behest of a landlord – no other country practices leasehold.' Mr Scoffin – along with other leasehold campaigners – said the case could end up in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which could mean years of delays before a verdict. 'People who are struggling to pay their service charges are not going to be happy if they hear about leasehold reform delays,' he added. 'Labour will struggle to keep promises' Significantly reforming or abolishing leasehold was always going to be an enormously challenging endeavour due to age-old legislation, issues that lenders have with commonhold – the proposed alternative homeownership model to leasehold – and a lack of guidance and clarity. Experts have warned that the Government may have bitten off more than it can chew, and will struggle to keep its promises to millions of leaseholders. Samuel Hughes, of think tank Centre for Policy Studies, said: 'It is lawful for the state to expropriate private property sometimes in the public interest, such as when it uses compulsory purchase to build a railway. 'Normally, however, property owners receive compensation equivalent to at least the market value of the property that has been seized. 'The unusual thing about this Act is that it forces freeholders to sell assets for less than their market value, meaning that they might receive less compensation when their assets are expropriated than they paid themselves when they originally bought the assets consensually. 'It is hardly surprising that they see this as violating their private property rights. The Court's decision will have significant implications for how we understand the rights of the British people against expropriation in the years to come.' Reema Chugh, a partner at law firm Hodge Jones and Allen, previously told The Telegraph: 'Retrospectively removing contractual rights is likely to be very challenging. The mechanisms to do it are really unclear. 'Ground rents are also often tied up in investment products [such as pensions]. If they retrospectively remove it, compensation schemes could be required, at a huge cost to taxpayers.' On Monday, Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, told MPs: 'This week, the High Court will be hearing challenges to some of the [2024] Act enfranchisement reforms, and we'll be robustly defending those challenges, and we'll await the court's judgment.' Grosvenor Group and Cadogan Group declined to comment.
The Sun
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Fresh hope for thousands of households suffering with extreme service charges planned by government law change
THOUSANDS of households will be able to challenge extortionate leasehold service charges more easily, the government has said. Households who live in leasehold properties pay fees to the person who owns the building or their managing agents for services including building insurance and maintenance. These service charges can include repairs and maintenance for things such as the roof, windows, drains and gutters. The payments are usually due twice a year and the exact amount can vary depending on the costs the landlord incurs. This can mean that they can be hit with surprise bills that can often run into thousands of pounds. Almost five million homeowners pay service fees, which have risen by 11% in the last year to an average of £2,300 a month, according to Hamptons. Leaseholders have been promised that the system will change by several governments and Labour when it was in opposition. The government is hoping to tackle this problem by forcing companies to be transparent about the fees they are charging, Sky News reports. The reforms will be introduced after a consultation, the government said. Leaseholders will receive standardised service charge documentation that will explain clearly and in detail how the fees are calculated and where their money is being spent. Other reforms will stop leaseholders from automatically having to pay for a landlord's legal costs even if they have won their case. The changes will allow homeowners to challenge unreasonable service charges more easily, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said. He added that the changes will put pressure on managing agents to reduce the fees. It will also introduce a strict new qualification system for managing agents to try and improve standards in the sector. Mr Pennycook told Sky News: "The system has some inherent inequities in it that do allow leaseholders to be gouged and particularly when it comes to managing agents there are unscrupulous people out there. "They are abusing leaseholders and there's poor practice. How do service charges work? Service charges are fees paid by a leaseholder or resident and are set by the landlord. The amount varies every year depending on costs to the landlord. The details are usually set out in your lease. Landlords usually calculate the fee based on what they think they will spend. At the end of the year they should provide a statement. Some leases allow landlords to ask for contributions towards a "sinking fund" which is a reserve that can be built up for larger scale works. These could include repairing the roof of the building or fixing issues with the foundations. "The reforms we are announcing today and reforms that are to come are going to bear down managing agents and ensure the sector as a whole is properly regulated." Unfair charges Some leaseholders have said that they have been charged unfair fees. Judges have made some landlords pay back up to £100,000 after the leaseholders took them to tribunal. In one example, the leaseholders were charged £135 to change two lightbulbs. In February 2023, it was revealed that landlords and insurance brokers were taking up to 60% of the £1.6billion leaseholders paid for building insurance as hidden commissions. New rules now stop insurance companies from choosing policies just to earn the highest commission. But brokers and managing agents are still allowed to take commissions. The government has previously promised to ban excessive building insurance commissions through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Instead, landlords will only be able to charge a straightforward and fair "permitted insurance fee" for the work they actually do, making costs clearer and protecting leaseholders from hidden charges. However, these proposed laws still need further legislation to come into effect, and the government hasn't yet provided a timetable for this. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing previously sold The Sun that "far too many leaseholders" are being hit with "unreasonable and extortionate charges". New rules planned by the government also plan to introduce commonhold agreements to replace leasehold ones. Commonhold allows flat owners to jointly own and manage their buildings, which cuts out landlords and property management companies. But the proposed rules only apply to new homes. How to challenge fees Leaseholders have the right to request extra information from their landlord within six months of receiving a summary of costs. You can challenge a cost if you think it's unreasonable, the standard of work is poor or you don't think you should have to pay it. For example, you could question why you need to pay for lift maintenance if you live in a ground-floor flat and it's not included in your lease. Or you can challenge for communal services, such as a garden that is always closed or a concierge that never has any staff. To challenge these services you need to apply to a tribunal which has the power to rule on whether the service charge is reasonable or payable. In England this is the first-tier tribunal (property chamber). In Wales it's the leasehold valuation tribunal. Applying to the tribunal usually costs a fixed fee of £114, but you may be able to waive it if you have certain benefits. If your case is transferred from court to the tribunal, you'll only pay the difference between the court fees and the tribunal fee - or nothing if you've already paid more than £114 in court fees. If a hearing is scheduled, you'll need to pay an additional £227 hearing fee. Speak to the Leasehold Advisory Service online at or call them on 020 7832 2500 to find out more and get free advice on service charge issues. You could also apply to the Housing Ombudsman if you want to complain about how your service charge fees have been managed. The Ombudsman said cases have jumped by 25 per cent in the last four years. .
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Housing minister vows to crack down on property management ‘wild west'
The housing minister has promised to crack down on unfair service charges and what he called the 'wild west' of property managing agents as he launched the next stage of the government's reforms of the leasehold system. Matthew Pennycook told the Guardian he wanted to stop a number of unfair practices undertaken by some companies, including overcharging and imposing large, unexpected repair fees. He was speaking as the government launched a consultation into measures such as making property managers provide more transparent information on their fees and forcing them to qualify as professional practitioners for the first time. The consultation is the latest step towards what the government promises will be an eventual end to the 'feudal' leasehold system, which applies to 5m homes in England. Pennycook said: 'Managing agents play a key role in multiple-occupancy buildings, and will play an even bigger role in the future, but it is a bit of a wild west at the minute.' Speaking about the new qualification system, he said: 'It is very easy to set yourself up as a managing agent. A group of us could do it just by renting an office on top of a newsagent in the high street … we know there are really bad practices out there.' Talking about the changes to service charges, he added: 'We are setting out plans to protect millions of leaseholders across the country from opaque and unfair service charges and other fees which they incur. 'Leaseholders are suffering and they need urgent relief – that's why we are doing what we are.' Pennycook has been pushing through a series of changes to the leasehold system in the last year, including implementing parts of the 2024 Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act which was passed by the Conservatives shortly before the general election. Some campaigners have been frustrated with the pace of change, accusing the government of dragging its feet on many of the promised reforms. The government's consultation, which will last 12 weeks, will ask for views on how to impose two major changes: more transparent fees and an end to what many see as unfair legal costs. Under the current system in England and Wales, freeholders and managers do not have to explain why they have charged the fees they have, and many resist doing so even when asked directly by residents. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion MPs say they have received complaints from their constituents of surprise one-off fees, above-inflation rises in service charges and even bills for repairs which are never carried out. One MP said they had been told of one case where a leaseholder had been charged for repairs to a lift in a building that did not have one. When residents do challenge their property freeholders or service companies in court, they sometimes find themselves saddled with having to pay their opponents' legal costs, even if they have won. The government's consultation will also seek a way to end that practice – though Pennycook admitted there could be a small number of cases where tenants still have to pay back unpaid fees. Ministers will also consult on a new regime for carrying out major repairs, which can currently happen at little notice and at great expense. Pennycook promised a draft leasehold bill, which will include provisions to end the system on new-build flats and to make it easier to convert old properties into other forms of ownership, would be published by the end of the year. 'It will be an ambitious piece of legislation, but there are many moving parts,' he said.
Sky News
04-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Leaseholders to get rights to more easily challenge extortionate service charges
Why you can trust Sky News Leaseholders will be able to more easily challenge extortionate service charges, the government has said. For those who are trapped in the midst of the leasehold scandal, the reforms cannot come soon enough. They have been promised change for many years by successive governments and by Labour in opposition, so any progress will be welcome, but is it enough for those suffering financially? It's a complex problem but at the heart of it are service charges that go higher and higher in a way that is often inexplicable, unpredictable and opaque. These are fees for building services and maintenance that are on top of the homeowner's mortgage. They often run into thousands of pounds, go way over the initial estimate and it is not clear why they are so high. By forcing companies to be transparent about the fees they are charging, the government is hoping to tackle this. The reforms, which the government has said it will push through after a consultation, will receive standardised service charge documentation which spell out clear and detailed information about how their service charges are calculated and spent. Further reforms will stop leaseholders having to automatically pay for landlords' litigation costs even where they have won their case. According to housing minister Matthew Pennycook, the changes will enable homeowners to challenge unreasonable charges more easily. He also believes it will put pressure on managing agents to bring fees down. The government will also introduce a strict new qualification regime for managing agents to try to raise standards in the sector. Mr Pennycook told Sky News: "The system has some inherent inequities in it that do allow leaseholders to be gouged and particularly when it comes to managing agents there are unscrupulous people out there. "They are abusing leaseholders and there's poor practice. "The reforms we are announcing today and reforms that are to come are going to bear down managing agents and ensure the sector as a whole is properly regulated." Asked why it has taken a year to make this announcement, and why further changes could take much longer, he said: "We've got to take forward through primary legislation the wider reforms necessary to bring the system to an end. "You can't do that in 100 days but we are also determined to provide relief to existing leaseholders now."
