March 19, 2024

Come on, Shelter! Don’t demand more housing without addressing leasehold’s many, many defects …

For some years, LKP has been pleading with the homeless and housing charity Shelter to do more to support the problems faced by leaseholders. For example, the arbitrary loss of home and destitution faced by lease forfeiture should surely be a concern? Forfeiture means total loss of the asset, offering a cash windfall to landlords, […]

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, […]

If Peverel Retirement is admitted to ARMA-Q, what message does that send thousands of cheated pensioners?

Ten months after being found guilty by the OFT of systematically cheating residents in retirement sites, Peverel Retirement is now lining up to join ARMA-Q. This is the new ethically enhanced membership scheme that ARMA hopes will demonstrate greater professional rigour in leasehold management. The announcement will be a shock for the ARHM (Association of Retirement […]

AgeUK echoes Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation’s concerns over retirement housing

The Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation agenda for reform of retirement housing has been given a ringing endorsement by a report published today by AgeUK. The report, Housing in Later Life, arrives just as the Competition and Markets Authority appears to be manoeuvring to downplay concerns in retirement in its leasehold sector inquiry.

McCarthy and Stone float: before we expand retirement housing, here are a few urgent reforms …

COMMENT So the sharper end of the City reckons its punt on retirement housing may pay off next year. The Sunday Times article on the possible float of McCarthy and Stone was preceded by one in the FT, here According to the FT a number of investment banks have been in contact with McCarthy and […]

Meeting with shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds

Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation / LKP met shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds yesterday to discuss problems in the leasehold sector. The meeting was organised by Jim Fitzpatrick, the Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, who has some of the richest and poorest leaseholders in the country in his constituency. He has become a firm […]

AgeUK would not get involved, Shelter has quit, Peverel has been expelled and Esther Rantzen is asking questions … the fiasco of the Campaign for Housing in Later Life

Last Friday, Peverel was expelled from the Home Builders’ Federation campaign to reinvigorate the retirement housing market. Its logo was removed from the campaign’s website, while earlier in the week the homeless charity Shelter also decided to jettison the campaign. AgeUK – which last year removed its logos from the Peverel Retirement site – had […]

Shelter ‘dumps’ the Campaign for Housing in Later Life

The charity Shelter appears to have ceased involvement in the ‘Campaign for Housing in Later Life’, which Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation revealed on April 9 registered its website to the Bournemouth HQ of McCarthy and Stone. The Shelter logo that appeared on the ‘Campaign’s’ website has been removed. Curiously, since publication by Campaign against […]

Campaign for Housing in Later Life traced to … McCarthy and Stone HQ!

(But what on earth are Esther Rantzen and Shelter doing with this lot?) UPDATE June 8: McCarthy and Stone points out that over the credit crunch period (the five years between 2007/8 to 2011/12) it sold 7,170 properties.  The company takes issue with Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation’s view that there has been “almost NO […]