Flat-Living.co.uk Grant Shapps Exchange of opinions


Flat Living wrote to Grant Shapps, Minister for Housing and Local Government, to question why he is not going to proceed with the service charge accounting regulations. The following exchange and reader comments on the next page suggests that this political hot potato is not going to go away…


Grant Shapps MP


Minister for Housing and Local Government Eland House Bressenden Place LONDON SW1E 5DU


Dear Mr Shapps


Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Further to your recent decision not to proceed with the service charge


accounting regulations under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, I am writing to you to ask for this to be reconsidered. I have had sight of your response to Brett Williams of the Association


of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and would like to point out to you where your conclusions let down leaseholders throughout the UK.


Numbers first: Over fifty per cent of the country’s leasehold flats (1.08m approx


leaseholders), which equates to around 40,000 blocks of flats have their properties managed by a property managing agent. ARMA works very hard to ensure that their members are guided into a fully transparent way of working with their clients, however not all property managing agents in England & Wales are ARMA members. This leaves the other many property managing agents with little or no guidance and no regulations to control them. The balance of the country’s leasehold flats (720,000 approx


leaseholders) which equates to 40,000+ blocks and conversions in England & Wales, are NOT managed by a property manager – they are self managed. These figures are based on previous government estimates.


Comments: Proceeding with the service charge accounting regulations


under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 as was expected is NOT going to increase costs significantly for service charge payers, however it will protect them against poor management and rogue landlords. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 was


passed eight years ago and after three years of intensive work to produce these regulations it has been stopped. The regulations were expected in April and many had


already started to towards what had been expected – providing transparency and accountability. However the landlords who were not correctly requesting and holding lessee monies – haven’t and will therefore be able to continue without the last stage of lessee protection which we expected to be implemented in April 2010. Flat Living provides a free information service (magazine, website and roadshows) for leaseholders and residents’ management companies and every day we are coming up against leaseholders with problems, their biggest asset is not being managed adequately. This is a time when the Government should be helping this large section of our population. Without legislation to protect this home-owner type, of


which there are over 1.8m throughout England & Wales, leaseholders may reconsider this way of life with the potential for the investment in their home remaining unsafe. Your decision will continue to allow rogue landlords to


continue to collect money from leaseholders without redress, collecting and spending leaseholders’ monies, without requirement to either be transparent or accountable to those they collect the money from. A large proportion of leasehold flats and apartments are


the assets of our older generation, however we see that in the future leasehold properties could end up becoming predominantly tenanted rather than offering the desirable living accommodation for owners with little time or whom who may be less able


www.flat-living.co.uk 13


to maintain a home, like the elderly. We write to ask you to reconsider your decision not to introduce these


provisions in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 stipulating that lessees’ money was to be held in separate designated bank accounts and that lessees would have the right to automatically receive a full set of annual service charge accounts along with an accountant’s report.


Yours sincerely, Flat Living


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  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56