Dear Sir, or Madam, I have been living in a retirement flat that I bought nine years ago with a 99year lease. The freeholder and manager is a registered housing association. In the past there has never been a problem in selling these flats which were built in 1985 as they are in a very […]
OFT promises ‘substantive announcement’ on exit fees in August
July 19, 2012 By
A letter to a Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation activist reveals that the Office of Fair Trading, whose seemingly interminable investigation into exit fees has lasted three years, will be making a “substantive announcement” in August. The news comes in a letter of July 11 from Martin Harvey, of the “Retirement Homes Investigation Team”. But […]
Sub-letting fees should not be more than £40, landlords are told (four times by the Land Tribunal)
June 15, 2012 By
Inevitably retirement flats are going to fall empty at some point, as the residents go into care or die, which leaves the owners’ heirs will the problem of what to do with them. Selling up is often difficult, as values of retirement properties have crumbled as badly as small inner city flats. Sometimes even more […]
‘Sub-letting fees aren’t fair, and I’m not paying’
February 13, 2012 By
A fanfare of trumpets for Joanna Worth, 49, who is making a stand against exit fees. Joanna is defying Peverel, which is demanding one per cent of the capital value of her flat in Beckenham, Kent, because she has sub-let it out to a pensioner. So far she has received three communications from Peverel, including […]
Exit fees: second response to Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation from the OFT
February 11, 2012 By
Anyone having to pay stealth charge exit fees on selling – or letting – their retirement flat may wonder whether John Fingleton, chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading, is worth his £279,999 salary. The OFT has been written off as toothless several times. It obviously just hoped the retirement flat issue would […]
Peverel: how to sell up and avoid the fees
January 1, 2012 By
Are you in a retirement property, and in a position of trying to break free fron Peverel? Maybe you’ve decided to move. Or maybe bereavement has forced a sale. Here are a few pointers to guide you on your way, which have been collated from actual experiences. However, if any of you have anything to […]
