“Something Has Gone Very Wrong With the LVT System” Baroness Tells FPRA AGM
“Something has gone very wrong with the LVT system and there is need for review of its workings.”
A packed annual general meeting of the Federation of Private Residents’ Associations heard the comments during a keynote address from leasehold reformer, Baroness Gardner of Parkes. During a speech which was later highly commended by those fortunate enough to attend the event, Baroness Gardner explained her concerns that the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (“LVT”) system has gone awry from its original purpose. Referring extensively to the original Parliamentary debates recorded in Hansard, Baroness Gardner reminded delegates of the words of Lord Lucas who was in charge of the relevant Bill in 1996:
“...Because of the complexity and cost of court proceedings -- in court proceedings there are lawyers’ fees which are likely to be far in excess of those payable in a tribunal - those remedies have been little used. The second state of our proposals is therefore to switch those cases to the tribunals. That move has been widely welcomed because leasehold valuation tribunals offer a less formal procedure, can bring their expertise to bear, and as my noble friend Lord Coleraine said,do not award costs. It is very important not to lose sight of those key advantages.”
Baroness Gardner continued to share her disappointment with the audience that the original Parliamentary intention regarding costs in the LVT has been circumvented:
"Reading again that Hansard makes me wonder where the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal has gone so wrong. The intention was to make it a simple and inexpensive system. Now I constantly hear from people who find that the owner or the intermediate lessee or their managing agent is employing expensive legally qualified staff to oppose the leaseholders’ LVT application and if they lose their case, then costs can be awarded against them.”
The FPRA will be taking up the concerns expressed as part of their lobbying activities centred around their paper - “Forgotten Leaseholders”.
Some 280 people had registered to attend the sold out event, organised by News on the Block, which also included workshops, one-to-one advice sessions and a keynote presentation from Chris Patterson of think tank, CentreForum. CentreForum have recently released a report on the workings of the leasehold system and recommendations for how to improve it called “A new lease of life: making leasehold fit for the 21st Century”.
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