A clever Lords amendment by Baroness Gardner that would see leasehold managing agents required to have a licence will be sabotaged in the Commons tomorrow. Instead, the Department of Communities and Local Government wants to insist managing agents belong to an ombudsman scheme. Ombudsmen are widely popular among the vested interests in the status quo […]
Vincent Tchenguiz: fast women, yachts, ex-Israeli intelligence operatives … and retirement leasehold
April 11, 2013 By
PDATE April 13, 18.24 Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation has been asked to make clear that “As mentioned in the court documents which you referred to, Black Cube should be described as a creative intelligence agency run by a group of “ex-Israeli intelligence operatives” or “IDF (Israel Defense Force) intelligence’s veterans”.” Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation is […]
More sites rebel against Anchor Retirement allowing sub-letting … in defiance of leases that ban it
April 4, 2013 By
UPDATES APRIL 5, 17.51: In a statement justifying its policy, Anchor Retirement refers to the Office of Fair Trading report which stated that “terms in long leases preventing sub-letting have potential for unfairness” and that “permission [to sub-let] should not be unreasonably withheld”. See below APRIL 5 It emerges that another Anchor Retirement site is in ferment over this […]
One in the Eye for a leasehold dispute
April 4, 2013 By
This week’s issue of Private Eye, the satirical magazine, has reported the Dennis Jackson forfeiture case, in which Leasehold Knowledge Partnership has been involved for the past six months. Headed “Grabbit and grab some more”, the article compares Jackson’s travails through the courts with the never-ending Jarndyce v. Jarndyce in Bleak House. The main point […]
Is Peverel looking for a £90,000 spin doctor with ‘personal integrity’?
March 29, 2013 By
Can this be our old friends at Peverel tarting up their image in leasehold management by recruiting an artful ‘Head of Communications” for £90,000 a year? It sounds like it from the description … “to restore the reputation of this multi-brand, market leading service provider with its customers, staff and the media”. The job is […]
Prisk tells Nick Clegg that ARHM’s new code ‘must say more about exit fees’
March 27, 2013 By
Housing Minister Mark Prisk is expecting the new code of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers to address the controversial issue of exit fees. These have been the subject of a long-running Office of Fair Trading investigation which concluded that they were wrong, but that it was not going to do anything about them. Fighting […]
Heirs of empty retirement leasehold flat now face doubled council taxes … on top of plummeting re-sale value, on-going service charges and an exit fee if it ever does sell
March 8, 2013 By
A son trying to sell his deceased mother’s retirement leasehold flat has been told that he will have to pay double the council tax on the empty property. The flat has fallen foul of Chester’s efforts to penalise owners of empty properties so that they are brought back into use – and increase revenues for […]
Sacked Peverel house manager went on spending spree … on flowers
March 2, 2013 By
A sacked Peverel house manager at a Shropshire retirement development went on a spending spree that will see the residents receive a £3,600 rebate on their service charges this August. The live-in house manager at Ashbrook Court, in Church Stretton, spent the money on cut flowers and plant pots to decorate the premises. “They all […]
Lee Middleburgh quits Peverel: A nation mourns …
March 2, 2013 By
A long standing member of the Peverel Politburo Lee Middleburgh, from before the era of Janet Entwistle, has resigned. His departure follows that of Keith Edgar, former head of Peverel Retirement in December. Peverel today issued the following statement: To be attributed to Janet Entwistle: Lee Middleburgh, Managing Director, Peverel Property Management, has decided to […]
Pensioner, 73, given last minute reprieve over forfeiture of his home
February 26, 2013 By
The pensioner who had the lease on his £800,000 flat forfeited won a reprieve today when his mortgage lender stepped in to pay his outstanding debts. Dennis Jackson, 73, a former commercial photographer, had the lease on his split-level flat at Plantation Wharf in Battersea forfeited last month and had 28 days to be out […]
Service with a snarl: anatomy of a leasehold ground rent demand
February 15, 2013 By
A Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reader has got in touch with his leasehold ground rent demand from Estates and Management, which he feels is a little peremptory and abrupt. So, let’s take a look. Before doing so, it is worth informing any new readers that the Tchenguiz Family Trusts owns one per cent of […]
Housing minister holds round-table discussion on leasehold
February 15, 2013 By
On Wednesday the leasehold “industry” was given the opportunity to persuade Housing Minister Mark Prisk that it has cleaned up its act with new codes of practice and consumer charters. The representation was largely from the commercial interests of leasehold and from the trade bodies that serve them. But there were also members of Parliament, […]
