March 28, 2024

Search Results for: demos

Oldies should sell up and boost retirement housing, says Demos (in report paid for by developers)

A report into retirement housing from the think-tank Demos is getting air time today – saying that if oldies wanting to buy a retirement property were able to do so it would “free up” £307 billion worth of housing. The full report, titled The Top of the Ladder,  can be read here  And the first […]

AgeUK: sort yourselves out!

It is very sad to see it reported today that AgeUK has been pushing expensive energy tariffs to the elderly in exchange for £6 million a year from energy giant E.ON. The Sun reported this in an investigation this morning Age UK recommended a special rate from E.ON which saw pensioners typically pay £1,049 for […]

Law Commission outlines ‘event’ fee report, but still wants to hear from leaseholders

About 100 of those who have contributed to the Law Commission report into retirement housing “event” fees were invited to an evening get-together at Westminster last Thursday. There was wine and canapés and gossip, after attendees had digested the evening’s theme “Building Fairness: Growing a housing market older people can trust”. Esther Rantzen was the […]

Packed Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation meeting at Westminster for leasehold reform

Two veteran MPs from rival parties demanded reform to residential leasehold at a packed Westminster meeting yesterday attended by 75 prominent figures in the sector. Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative, Worthing West) and Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour, Poplar and Limehouse) jointly hosted the session having both urged amendment to the Housing Bill. The meeting was attended by […]

Housing minister Brandon Lewis meets Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation

Brandon Lewis, the housing minister, this week met the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation, accompanied by its patron MPs Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick. The meeting covered the following: Lease forfeiture: LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation says this nuclear weapon of freeholders should be ended as it can […]

Telegraph asks: Should you really buy a retirement property?

The Daily Telegraph yesterday published an excellent balancing article to the usual advert-friendly dross that accompanies features on retirement housing. It can be read here. Please do comment on it (and here, of course). Written by Fleet Street veteran Liz Hodgkinson, the article addresses the points raised by Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation – which […]

Oldies should downsize and give retirement house builders lots of money, reports Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph has repeated a load of retirement house builder propaganda in a story about oldies downsizing. Story link is here It is basically a re-hash of the 2013 report by the think tank Demos, called The Top of the Ladder – which was paid for by the House Builders’ Federation on behalf of […]

Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation at Number 10

LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation were invited to 10 Downing Street for a meeting this afternoon to discuss the leasehold sector and the need for reform. Every area of the sector was discussed – including, at length, retirement housing – at a meeting that was held at the request of Sir Peter Bottomley, […]

Will Lord Best’s proposals produce a healthy retirement housing market …

… Or help perpetuate what is already wrong with it?   – Government should underwrite retirement flat purchases like Help To Buy scheme – There should not be any stamp duty when downsizing – Schemes where some service charges are deferred until a property is sold should be ‘made available more widely’ – Retirement accommodation offers huge savings over maintaining […]