parent of 7y.o. Unable to sell London flat due to massive service charges and agent opacity on all finances. Aviva-owned block. LSH managed. REFORM LEASEHOLD!!
London / UK
Joined December 2010
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Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
@lewis_goodall any chance I could come on you show and explain the realities of communal leasehold - your ignorance on the issue is undermining your credibility.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
A two-bed flat in my building has just sold at auction for around Β£78,000. These flats were once worth nearer Β£130,000 way back. The really sad part is that the previous owner bought it for about Β£77,000 a few years ago, when it was an absolute bargain at an auction, it had the Section 20 settled and even came with a parking space.
And look at it. She didnβt neglect it. She didnβt treat it as some temporary box. She took real pride in it and made it beautiful. In any normal housing market, you would think buying well, caring for a home, improving it and holding onto it would give you at least some chance of a return. But that is the curse of uncapped leasehold.
A home can be loved, improved and maintained, yet still be dragged down by service charges, major works bills around the corner, legal costs and the permanent uncertainty of what might be demanded next.
This is what people outside the system often miss. Leasehold doesnβt just cost you money month by month. It can poison the value of the home itself. All that care. All that pride. All that effort. This could be mistaken for a posh staycation in Manchester.
And still, the system wins, and leaseholders get nowhere.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
.@FloEshalomi understands unadopted estates issues well @andyburnham. We do not want @AngelaRayner anywhere near housing after our experience last time. She has no credibility left after trying to wiggle out of paying stamp duty. #StopTheRotAdoptTheLot
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
The Written Ministerial Statement:
questions-statements.parliamβ¦
Our response:
endourcladdingscandal.org/poβ¦
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
A big thanks to @LauraBeveridge7 for allowing me to highlight the catastrophic consequences of a flawed housing sector.
How can @UKLabour promise to build 1.5m new, safe homes when @Keir_Starmer won't help resolve one defective new build in his constituency?
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Actually I longed called for it to be regulated, and gave evidence as such. It did about a month ago start being regulated by Ofgem and covered by the Energy Ombudsman - that's a step forward but its early days.
I'd be surprised if you're seeing hikes of a similar size to the doubling cost and paying upfront of home heating oil though. Has that happened? If it has I'll put out a question to see how widespread it is.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
π¨ The Cabinet Office canβt provide evidence for Β£7 BILLION of spending.
Thatβs not my claim. Thatβs straight from the National Audit Office.
The NAO states it was βunable to obtain sufficient appropriate evidenceβ to support Β£6.987 billion of expenditure.
And this is now the second year in a row the Cabinet Office has failed to pass its audit cleanly without qualification.
At the same time: The DWP has failed to pass its audit properly for 37 consecutive years due to material levels of fraud and error
And again, the NAOβs words, not mine.
β They tell us thereβs no money.
β They tell us taxes must rise.
β They tell us cuts are unavoidable.
Yet one department canβt evidence Β£7bn. Another has decades of qualified accounts due to fraud and error.
And weβre supposed to believe the problem is that we donβt pay enough tax.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Four leaseholders told to pay Β£9,400 a year for fire safety works.
π¨οΈ βWe just canβt afford to pay thatβ
Housing association Hastoe says: βThere is no government funding for these works on blocks under 11m.β
Leaseholders left to pick up the bill. β
lutontoday.co.uk/news/peopleβ¦
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
This is extraordinarily misinformed.
Ed Miliband just bought offshore wind on a twenty year contract at a HIGHER price than gas power is now during an energy price spike.
They are locking us into crisis-level prices for decades. Thatβs what they call βcontrolβ.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Service Charge.
2020: Β£104 a month
2026: Β£425 a month
Thatβs over a 300% increase since 2020.
309% actually.
Now the housing association says residents should have been saving since 2019 for Section 20 major works.
Those same works were both contested by leaseholders and financially unrealistic for many residents to save for in the first place. The modest cost of our homes reflects the modest incomes of the leaseholders.
Theyβve now issued a demand for Β£9,000 immediately by the end of April, rejecting a repayment plan and warning of interest, debt recovery and potential forfeiture. This is but one demand, the tone is uncompromising. Sent on Friday 13th to complete the irony.
Apparently allowing instalments would breach their "charitable aims." What happened to enabling people to live well in their homes and communities?
This is the reality of #leasehold.
@Dan4Barnet will govt help us leaseholders with communal residential heating systems that are not protected by consumer price cap? Just like those on oil heating systems who are getting support with escalating costs. Why is it one rule for one, but leaseholders always shafted?
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Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
This shows what we're seeing in our area, ie flat prices are at or below post 2008 GFC prices.
There is also a massive negative equity problem that continues to freeze that "first rung" on the ladder. The knock-on impact on the wider market should be obvious to @mhclg ministers.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
As might well be imagined, the British Property Federation is not keen on the ground rents being curbed, depriving members of income. There is also grousing about the move from Leasehold to Commonhold. But you sense from the tone of their objections that they will get over it.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Hi Rachel,
I shared a platform with you before the last general election to help your candidacy. The topic was ending leasehold for commonhold and how the last Tory government was messing it all up.
We have never met for a meeting since despite my multiple attempts to secure one to discuss delivering Labourβs manifesto commitment to end leasehold for good.
So do forgive us if we get angry seeing lobbyist-friendly posts like yours.
Peopleβs lives, including my own, are being destroyed by leasehold and this governmentβs unreasonable foot-dragging.
We thank @ZackPolanski for drawing attention to it.
Youβre talking up a closed-door meeting with industry lobbyists (not the first?) as a solution to the leasehold scandal where there was precisely zero leasehold campaigners in the room.
Managing agents and insurers are not neutral βstakeholdersβ.
These interests want to delay, water down and block any moves to change the law to end their monopolistic control of leaseholdersβ homes. Any proposals they advance will be about cementing their rent-seeking business models under the guise of βnew protectionsβ for leaseholders.
This sort of stakeholderism is a cancer, something identified by @OvePM as a reason why your government is drifting and failing to deliver its mandate.
@FreeLeasehlders have been absolutely shut out by your government because weβve demanded you honour the manifesto, the July 2024 Kingβs Speech and @mtpennycookβs November 2024 written statement, which has now been broken twice.
@UKLabour can still turn it around but it means ignoring all these industry lobbyists and engaging with genuine grassroots voices.
Itβs clear that Number 10 do not understand the growing public anger over the financialisation of housing.
There is a new political economy emerging - look at Trumpβs crackdown on institutional investors in housing.
Meanwhile, your government is cavorting with lobbyists for Big Freehold to block ground rent reform hence the suppression of the Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill that was due to be published before Christmas.
Iβm still up for that coffee if you are!
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
π¨ Leasehold Reform Update
The High Court has dismissed the Judicial Review challenge to key parts of the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act 2024 including the abolition of marriage value, the ground rent cap, and the end of freeholder cost recovery.
peppercornlaw.co.uk/post/freβ¦
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Weβve formally written to the Honours Committee calling for Baroness Mone to be stripped of her OBE.
No one who profited from unusable PPE while people died without protection should hold an honour.
It's in the Government's power to make this happen. They must act now.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Without early diagnosis, thereβs no access to support or research. Sign the petition to change that now.
Scandal Lass π₯π’π©π»ββοΈποΈπ· retweeted
Weβre at @UKLabour conference in Liverpool!
Weβre looking forward to talking to MPs about our #DementiaUnseen campaign, and how the Government can keep up momentum on its big plans for life sciences and the #NHS, so we can turn promises into real progress #ForACure
