Home | Forum helps housing providers avoid leasehold pitfalls

Forum helps housing providers avoid leasehold pitfalls

22 March 2010

Registered providers (RPs) with leasehold and shared ownership housing stock face multiple pitfalls when managing it, Shoosmiths has warned.

The national law firm says leasehold and shared ownership management threatens unwary RPs with holes in their budgets and tattered financial plans if they fail to follow correct processes for service charges, carrying out improvement works, and third party services contracting.

All of it could result in scrutiny from banks and regulators.

Partner and social housing specialist Yetunde Dania said: “This area is something of a minefield, and unless RPs tackle leasehold and shared ownership management properly it can damage them financially and result in challenges by residents before the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

“One London local authority lost £5m by getting aspects of leasehold and shared ownership management wrong. There’s so much that can go wrong, too, particularly concerning leases, service charges, and contracts.”

Leases, unlike tenancy agreements, tend to differ depending on when they were granted, and on the scheme and property in question. Consequently, each lease is likely to be different.

Service charge clauses are among the most important, enabling RPs to recover the cost of the services they provide to residents.

And on contracts, legislation requires RPs to take specific steps when seeking to enter into a qualifying contract or when carrying out works exceeding a specific value, and where they wish to recover costs from their residents. Not following the correct process could see RPs having to pay the entire cost.

To help RPs tackle these issues and make sure they get the processes right, Shoosmiths is launching the Leasehold & Shared Ownership Forum.
 
RPs that sign up to it receive e-briefings on key issues, reports on Lands Tribunal decisions, and invitations to bespoke presentations aimed at front line staff involved in leasehold and shared ownership management.

Four have already been lined-up, and will take place at Shoosmiths’ Colmore Row office, in Birmingham:

• 29 April  Shared ownership leases: Evolution or revolution?
• 20 May   Service charges: Can't pay, won't pay
• 9 June     Section 20 Consultation: Pitfalls and how to avoid them
• 17 June   Leasehold Valuation Tribunal: Who, what, when, how?

For further information please contact:
Name: Alastair Gray
Phone: 03700 864096
Email: Alastair.Gray@shoosmiths.co.uk

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