Where is the Promised Government Action??
The government has been in power for over 100 days and on the back of manifesto promises and the King’s Speech have failed to act “quickly” as promised.
There is considerable confusion also about the new “regulated rentcharges” which appear to exclude estate rent charges – or at least the lawyers think so.
Time to write to by MP and urge them to start asking questions of the minister!
We feel that this action will yield more than asking MPs to join the APPG talking shop, but it is up to you to decide.
When parliament was dissolved so was the old APPG (all Party Parliamentary Group) on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform. It has recently been reformed and is chaired by two MPs who have spoken well about estate charges in the past. However we feel that “fleecehold” really needs it’s own forum or at least a sub group with sole focus. Why? There is a lot to do around leasehold and commonhold as the secondary legislation for the recent Act is not yet in place AND it doesn’t abolish leasehold anyway.
It will do a disservice to both causes if they are lumped together again in this forum, as fleecehold is essentially about lack of adoption, rather than property tenure. All tenures on private estates pay estate charges.
So here is some suggested wording for those keen to urge their MPs to act, which we hope will also help make them aware of the wider issues – please consider copying us in at hornets@homeownersrights.net
Name
Address
Date
Dear [Name of MP]
We are/I am thankful that this government has promised to deal with the injustice of fleecehold because [add your story]
I/we am/are very concerned that the government are not delivering the draft secondary legislation as they promised to do in this session of parliament. They have been in office over 100 days and we are in to the run up to Christmas but we have nothing but talk about consultations. The work to implement the measures in the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Act 2024 will have been done by the department and just needs bringing forward. Although we need universal adoption, the measures in the bill will at least give us some redress in the meantime. We would also like some clarity over the new regulated rentcharges as people are still getting demands for Deeds of Variation and lawyers seem to think that the new clause does not exclude estate rentcharges. We were promised that we would not have the threat of loosing our freehold interest in the event of non payment. Would you please be able to ask the Secretary Of State to clarify on this point and press him for some action on the draft bill?
At the moment the only forum available to discuss and share information about “fleecehold” as constituency MPs is the reformed APPG on Leasehold and Commonhold. Although I urge you to join this important group to represent the interests of leaseholders, I/We would like to emphasise that estate charges are not simply a matter of property tenure and the model encompasses wider problems such as long term blight, back door privatisation, community division and loss of council control over its statutory duties in flood management. So called “fleecehold” really needs its own forum as it is a matter for planning and communities. The only thing there is in common is that property laws are being used to enforce the exploitation that fleecehold homeowners like me/us are experiencing.
In their Housebuilding Market Study, the CMA has recently pointed out they recommend more adoption for a number of reasons and emphasise the unfairness and imbalance of power when a subset of residents are tied in to paying estate charges for public spaces/amenities.
We/I believe that our issue needs to be looked at separately and it is my/ our request that you write to the Co-chairs of this APPG to ask if a separate group can be formed to tackle fleecehold or if a sub group can be formed within this APPG as the only way to solve our plight is through universal adoption, not changes to property law or regulation of managing agents.
I/We would also like to direct you towards the campaign group Home Owners Right Network who have been working tirelessly to raise awareness about the issue of fleecehold for a number of years, and who have been recognised as stakeholders in this matter as they are representing thousands affected just like us.
I/We will be happy to arrange a meeting with you to discuss this matter further.
Kind regards
Name/ Signature
For your information:
The MP’s who are in the Leasehold and Commonhold APPG so far are
Co – Chairs – Mike Amesbury MP – Runcorn and Helsby
Co – Chairs – Neil O’Brien MP – Harborough, Oadby, Wigston
Shaun Davies MP – Telford
Will Stone MP – Swindon North
Chris Curtis MP – Milton Keynes North
Joe Powell MP – Kensington
Margaret Mullane MP – Dagenham and Rainham
Andrew Cooper MP – Mid Cheshire
Kirith Entwistle MP- Bolton North East
Rachel Hopkins MP – Luton South and South Bedford
Marie Rimmer MP- St Helens South and Whiston
Amanda Hack MP – North West Leicestershire
Jack Abbott MP- Ipswich
Alistair Strathern MP – Hitchin
Jayne Kirkham MP – Truro and Falmouth
Mark Ferguson MP – Gateshead Central and Whickham
David Pinto-Duschinsky MP – Hendon
Barry Gardiner MP- Brent West
Meg Hillier MP – Hackney South and Shoreditch
Wendy Morton MP – Aldridge-Brownhills
You must add your name and address so your MP knows you are a constituent.
If you don’t know who they are you can find out here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
Or just use the Write to Them Service by entering your postcode below:
