22 June 2016 Letter to Sir Peter Bottomley

Better Retirement Housing, formerly the Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation, exists to promote good practice in the retirement housing sector.

The elderly should be able to downsize, enjoy the benefits of stress-free homes, and live communally.

The advantages of this form of living to achieve mutual reliance and combat loneliness are obvious.

Sadly, the UK’s retirement housing sector has been beset with poor practice and has an appalling reputation. It has been the subject of critical tribunal rulings, two investigations by the Office of Fair Trading, and one Law Commission report.

It has also been debated in Parliament, and at the All Party Parliamentary Group meetings organised by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.

That there is a problem is not disputed by impartial observers, although retirement housebuilders’ do their best to minimise the issues.

It is scandalous that the most vulnerable in our society have been beset by sneaky and dishonest fees widespread in leasehold, or systematically cheated, as the OFT found in the Peverel / Cirrus collusive tendering scandal.

However, we acknowledge that the retirement housing sector is varied and there are good operators within it. Better Retirement Housing is delighted that new overseas companies are moving into the market, and that care providers are producing housing solutions. This has introduced a welcome change of culture.

Nonetheless, the standard retirement leasehold flat remains a dubious proposition. It is absurd that it can be the single worst residential property investment one can make, with plummeting re-sale values bearing no resemblance to the local housing market.

The worst practices are made possible by leasehold tenure, and is widely acknowledged that in Scotland, where leasehold does not exist, retirement housing is more harmonious.

Better Retirement Housing aims to improve this sector and, with the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, seeks to make reforms to residential leasehold law.

We assist with individual problems and provide an editorial service of the sector, which aims to be accurate and fair.

Sebastian O’Kelly
sok@leaseholdknowledge.com

Martin Boyd
martin.boyd@leaseholdknowledge.com

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