Leasehold property is in a period where a large spotlight is being shone upon it. Each week it would seem there is a new consultation or call for evidence from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). There were over 6,000 responses to the consultation on leasehold houses. We now have calls for evidence on regulation of managing agents and also another one on gazumping.
We would urge everyone to contribute to the calls for evidence. It is your chance to make your views heard and to get across your perspectives and experiences. If you do not contribute then how will anyone know your view? It is imperative that we seize the zeitgeist and engage fully and openly on all matters.
We are on a journey that will hopefully see improvements in leasehold. What the outcome will be is yet to be known but it will not please all the people for certain, that would be impossible. But as long as we see fairness and equitable solutions then the community living experience should be enhanced.
LEASE continues to embrace its sole focus on leaseholders and the team are working hard in finding ways to take our advisory service as wide as possible. We are currently exploring the most effective ways to reach out to you across the country.
One message I keep coming back to is about give and take in community living. Any block of flats is a community. Thinking about your neighbours and being respectful is the basic component. From those who are obsessively messy to those who are obsessively tidy, everyone has their own standards and foibles. It is a requirement for harmonious living that each and every one respects each other and cares for the building. Someone who wants the minimum spent on service charge would not want to see money spent repairing items that were damaged through careless use.
As we move forward with changes and whatever is the outcome of the great work the DCLG is doing, one thing that won’t change is the plain and simple fact that any block of flats requires managing, maintaining and meeting the needs of all owners and residents. This is in tandem with the owners and residents having to share the communal space and any amenities. After all you never choose your neighbours.
