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Self Management Guide

One of long term supporters has written this helpful guide for residents who wish to self manage their estates. Whether they can do so may depend on the underlying legal structures/company rules (articles) and agreements with third parties like the 106 contracts with the council. Developments vary hugely in this as there are no standards and local conditions may differ.

As a campaign group, we do not support self management as a solution to all of the problems caused by lack of adoption, but it can reduce the level of exploitation by managing agents and give residents some control. We see self management as a temporary situation to alleviate some of the pain and it could be a stepping stone to adoption in the future.

Here is the guide which is very comprehensive – it pays to be careful given how developers have created the rip off of privately managed estates in the first place.

A Guide to Taking Control of the External Common Parts of New-Build EstatesDownload

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Indefinite Injustice?

In response to pressure and in spite of support from his friends at LKP, the Housing Minister was forced to defend how slowly and inadequately his department is acting to “quickly” implement the last government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LAFRA) and also bring to an end the injustice of “fleecehold”. You can read his statement of 21st November 2024 here.

You will see there is very little to suggest anything other than more talking, in spite of the government handing the big builders a shopping basket of 1.5M homes – all with a bonus injustice? Estate management charges seem to have somehow become “son of leasehold” in spite of our campaign for adoption and the findings of the CMA.

We say this:

The Housing Minister’s recent statement shows how harmful it has been to conflate Estate Management Charges with matters of tenure whether this is freehold or leasehold. There is nothing in it that removes the injustice of a subset of private homeowners paying for the upkeep of public open spaces. Only adoption will do this.

It appears this government is in favour of trapping more people in this injustice rather than meaningfully helping those of us who are trapped already. This is despite claiming to be a party of change which will tackle the foundation as the party for working people. This illusion is now completely shattered as it is clear that this Labour Party is actually in favour of developers, lobbyist and other vested interests maintaining their foot over our necks and our homes and creating an income stream from us.

We at Hornets are not going to give up because we are fighting for our homes and security, and we are fighting to live in dignity in our homes. We are going to speak out at every opportunity making our case that universal adoption is the only way to remove this injustice. #StopTheRotAdoptTheLot

Dr Cathy Priestley and Halima Ali  22nd November 2024

Campaign Coordinators (HorNets) 


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Adoption for All!

We have taken a little time to think about the governments’ response to the Competition and Markets Authority recommendations in their recent Housebuilding Market Study. The CMA have recommended more adoption together with better regulation and consumer protection. We do not agree that regulation will solve all of the issues caused by privately managed public areas, only adoption will do this.

Our main concern now is to avoid a two tier system leaving existing estates privately managed and further devalued whilst new future estates are adopted. We have to push for universal adoption and ask our supporters to email their MPs asking them to put pressure on the government to change their tack and put an end to this iniquitous exploit for good.

Here is our statement which you can download and forward to your MP, councillors and the media. We have to hold the government to account – they have made promises in their election manifesto and in the King’s speech.

statementNov24Download

Please share far and wide!


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