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Two MP’s have recently raised issues of leasehold inequity in Parliament. The high profile comments mirror concerns raised by Baroness Gardner in the House of Lords (see News on the Block, Issue 60). Sir Peter Bottomley MP, who was later praised by Barry Sheerman MP, referred to leasehold property ownership and going to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal as “...legal torture...”. He continued: “There are scandals that need exposing. We need publicity and better adoption of rules and guidance and, if nec

Government Minister, Baroness Hanham struggled to cope in the House of Lords as she faced intense questioning from Baroness Gardner and other Peers on legal protection for leaseholders.  When persistently asked why the Government had not yet implemented legal protection for leaseholders and when they planned to do so, Baroness Hanham uttered a selection of tepid responses including:  “We do not believe that it is necessary...” “...this was not our legislation: it was the legislation of the pre

The Supreme Court is today starting to hear the joint appeals of Day v Hosebay Ltd and Howard de Walden Estates v Lexgorge Ltd.  The issue being concerned is an important one in enfranchisement law, as it concerns what qualifies as a "house", and the decision could have far reaching implications.   To watch the hearing live, please use this link http://news.sky.com/info/supreme-court.   To read more about these cases, click here http://www.newsontheblock.com/buying-your-freehold/2241/hosebay-lim

Simon Van Houten, a former property manager with managing agents Rendall & Rittner, may be sent to prison after pleading guilty earlier this week at the Old Bailey to fraud.  Van Houten now awaits sentencing.

Vincent Tchenguiz, Chairman of Consensus Business Group, has been informed by the Serious Fraud Office that he is no longer being treated as a suspect in their long running investigation into the collapse of the Kaupthing Bank in October 2008.Tchenguiz was arrested by the City of London Police in a dawn raid on 9th March 2011. He was held for 14 hours, questioned for less than one hour, and released without charge the same day.Vincent Tchenguiz explained: “It is nearly 15 months since the SFO had me arres

QUESTION   Dear Sir I am one of the 4 directors of a RMC. The directors in our RMC are responsible for the running of the building (hiring contractors, , contacting them for work, paying them, arranging insurance, organising residents’ meetings, etc...) We have a managing agent who are Company Secretary and do not manage the building, they just send service charges demands, deal with the accounts, ask our approval to pay contractors. At a general meeting of the residents in March, a direct

ALEP’s tenth conference was held on 21 March 2012 at the IET, Savoy Place, London and hosted by Damian Greenish, ALEP’s Honorary President. The first presentation was given by Stephen Ladyman PhD, the former Member of Parliament for South Thanet until 2010 and the outgoing CEO of Retirement Security Ltd. Stephen argued that the retirement market is generally poorly understood by surveyors and the legal profession. The purchase of a leasehold or freehold for a potentially vulnerable person is a transaction

LEASE Annual Conference, 200 delegates attending the recent Annual Conference of the Leasehold Advisory service were treated to a packed day of keynote speeches and discussion sessions centred around managing, valuing and selling leasehold property.   Leading lawyers, Anthony Radevsky, Philip Rainey QC and Professor Driscoll updated delegates with sessions on enfranchisement, leasehold management case law and prospects for new legislative change in this highly complex area of law. Industry experts als

A recent case from the High Court of Justice has clarified an interesting point of enfranchisement law.   The case concerned Barrie House, a block of 37 flats in West London, opposite Kensington Gardens. The lessee claimants had served an Initial Notice under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 seeking to exercise their right to collectively enfranchise the freehold of the building as well as the gardens and driveway to the property.  The defendant freeholder accepted that the

“The landlord seeks to recover money from the tenant. On ordinary principles there must be clear terms in the contractual provisions said to entitle him to do so.” (Gilje v Charlgrove Securities) If there is any ambiguity in a lease, it will be construed against the landlord. The obligation to contribute towards an expense must arise “clearly and plainly from the words that are used”. If it does not, it will not be recoverable. A well drafted modern lease will expressly allow the landlord or managemen

The most proactive way to deal with Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (LTA) 1985 is to be open and transparent with lessees about service charge expenditure from the outset so you as an agent voluntarily provide an alternative procedure to allow clients and lessees to scrutinize expenditure and reduce the possibility of service charge disputes.   Section 21 LTA 1985 gives leaseholder(s) or secretary of a recognised residents association a statutory right to seek a summary of the service charge

The MD of a large block management company, recently publicly supported the need for improved professional standards and suggested this can best be accomplished through size. The explanation was that size equals professionalism and small meant amateur. Whilst I would strongly disagree with the main thrust of this argument there are some key points to bear in mind;   How open is the market for block management? Whilst anyone can purport to be a block management company, if you follow the m