Issue 108

Court ruling ignites hope for landlords A landmark ruling offers welcome news but landlords should still exercise common sense

£4.50 Issue 108 / 2020 The Magazine for Apartment Building Management Enfranchisement & Right to Manage

Special edition

Enfranchisement in a post-Covid world

contents ISSUE 108 news 5 Radical plans to shake-up

Enfranc &

leaseholds unveiled The Law Commision has propsed reforms allowing flats to be sold with freehold 5 Property sector lends support to Pride month Funds to safely house LGBTQ+ young people 7 Leasehold Group mourns sudden death of MD Louie Burns Staff at the Leasehold Group are devastated after their managing director died 9 Appeal court rules in favour of landlords in S21 case A landmark ruling means tenants can be evicted via section 21 notices even where gas safety certificates were not provided inresidence 11 Appointments The latest moves in the property sector.

24 Sign of the times! Tenants who use

electronic signatures do so at their own risk until clear procedure is agreed, argues Howard Lederman

25 Collective enfranchisement v right to manage Choosing the best process depends on what you'd like to achieve 27 Appointing a manager to take over a RTM Rawdon Crozier and IbraheemDulmeer explain the steps needed

17 Enfranchisement in a post-Covid world Louise Uphill examines the practicalities and challenges of valuations and legal practices in the wake of coronavirus 19 A question of proportion! Katie Edwards considers the issues around calculating whether a mixed-use property qualifies for right to manage 21 Is commonhold or leasehold better? Mari Knowles looks at a debate that has been bubbling away for years

13 Don’t leave RCAs to chance

Property managers often find that reinstatement cost assessments can fall to the bottom of their ‘to do’ list

inbox 14 Questions and Call of the month! Readers ask the experts

23 Lessons in student housing & leaseholder rights The are

issues that can arise with student accommodation

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ISSUE 108

@newsontheblock News on the Block

News on the Block is the leading independent magazine providing help and advice to flat owners, landlords, managing agents and their professional advisors. www.newsontheblock.com SMS US: 0786 002 1858

FORMORE INFORMATION www.newsontheblock.com

chisement RTM

inpractice

29 Enfranchisement: What’s it all about? The rights available to leaseholders of flats and houses 30 Costs recovery for

33 How do we split the bill for EV

charging? The electric vehicle

‘excluded units’ Right to mange

inassociation 37 Free online training for IRPM members launched Property managers can access a new library of information to help develop their skills landlords A landmark ruling offers welcome news but landlords should still exercise common sense revolution is unstoppable but some older charge points are already obsolete 35 Court ruling ignites hope for

companies need to be aware of an important statutory right 31 The benefits of lease

extensions by private treaty Negative press has detracted from the positives of such lease extensions

28 What’s in a name when it’s a flat? Roger Hardwick considers a technical explanation that has plagued the industry for years

directory 38 Help at hand A selection of companies offering help to leaseholders

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ISSUE 108

DILLONS

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ISSUE 108

news

Radical plans to shake-up leaseholds unveiled

R adical reforms allowing flats to be sold with freehold title (as part of a commonhold) have been proposed by the Law Commission. A raft of changes have been suggested after a two-year probe into leaseholds. The investigation followed furore around the sale of houses on estates with leaseholds which had ground rents that were due to double every 10 years. Thousands of families say they are stuck in homes that are virtually impossible to sell due to the leaseholds. The Law Commission proposals, if made law, would make it easier for leaseholders to buy their freehold, extend their lease or eliminate ground rents. Property sector lends support to Pride month

is limited to just those who completed the survey,” says Will Martin, founding member of UKCAG. One of those who responded said: “I feel hopeless. I feel as a mother I cannot provide a safe home for my child or be a good parent.” Another wrote: “I struggle each day to keep myself alive due to the financial worries of ending up homeless and bankrupt.” Eight out of 10 survey respondents say that their relationships with friends and family had been affected, and 28 per cent say their relationship with their partner had become strained. recommended a new right for leaseholders with very long leases to 'buy out' the ground rent under their lease without also having to extend the length of their lease. Professor Nick Hopkins, commissioner for property law, said: “The leasehold system is not working for millions of homeowners in England and Wales. We have heard how the current law leaves them feeling like they don't truly own their home. “Our reforms will make a real difference by giving leaseholders greater control over their homes, offering a cheaper and easier route out of leasehold, and establishing commonhold as the preferred alternative system.”

The Law Commission’s proposals go further by suggesting that existing leaseholders should have the right to a lease extension for a term of 990 years. Currently, the law only allows extensions are only available for 90 or 50 year. It recommended there should be no ongoing ground rent under this extended lease, and landlords should not be able to use the lease extension process to impose new obligations. This would put an end to the onerous ground rents that many leaseholders have to pay while at the same time making it much easier for homeowners to sell these properties. The Law Commission also

One proposal would give homeowners the right to extend their lease for nearly 1,000 years while at the same time removing any obligation to pay rent to the freeholder. The proposals come in response to a scandal that has seen thousands of homeowners facing inflating ground rents and fees by developers and investment firms. Rules to ban the sale of houses with leaseholds and also outlaw developers from selling leases containing obligations to pay for ground rent were announced last year But they have yet to be brought into effect and they didn’t affect those homeowners who already had houses with leaseholds.

People in homes with cladding face mental strain

N ine out of 10 people who live in flats with cladding say their mental health has suffered since the Grenfell Tower blaze. A study has found that almost a quarter of those surveyed say they have had suicidal feelings. Anxiety about safety and the cost of removing cladding was cited as being the main worry.

UK Cladding Action Group (UKCAG) carried out the study, which found that 90 percent of people said their mental health had deteriorated as a direct result of the cladding issue. Residents are calling on the government to take immediate action to address the situation. “Given the sheer number of unsafe buildings, it is inconceivable the problem

P roperty professionals who set up a portal to help disadvantaged people the early days of the coronavirus crisis have raised funds to safely house LGBTQ+ young people. The people behind Do Some Good supported Pride month in June by supporting AKT, a charity that supports LGBTQ+ people aged 16 to 25 find a safe place to live. It reaches out to those who need help finding a safe home are those who are or are facing homelessness or are living in a hostile environment. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, AKT has seen an increase in cases due to young people being confined and forcibly being outed to families and guardians who disapprove of an individual’s sexuality. Andrew Deverell-Smith, founder and chief executive of deverellsmith, which is a partner of Do Some Good, said: “The property industry must come together to support the LGBTQ+ community and we’re proud that Do Some Good is pledging to support these young people during these difficult times.”

Lockdown leads to big rise in high-speed broadband sales

T he coronavirus lockdown has led to a 99 per cent increase in sales of high- speed broadband, a study has found. Research by MoneySuperMarket found that sales >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44

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