LEASEHOLDER SCANDAL BREAKTHROUGH

Trapped 400 hope Mrs May

will help

A breakthrough this week in the  leaseholder scandal may give new hope to  an estimated 100,000 trapped leaseholders  and particularly the 400 Riverside Housing Association leaseholders in Carlisle.

The breakthrough came when a major national developer agreed to buy back some freeholds and axe their  ground rent clauses.

Countryside Properties, which sold some of the freeholds on its houses to a ground rent company  has agreed to buy a number of them back with a view to releasing homeowners from clauses where ground rents double every 10 years.

The trapped 400 in Carlisle got their properties from the city council and became Riverside leaseholders 15 years ago when Liverpool-based Riverside took over the council`s 8,000 council homes.

Since that time the trapped 400 have battled against rocketing Riverside  ground rent charges and other charges  made more intolerable by a rickety inefficient Riverside management organisation.

Several  efforts by the trapped 400 to organise themselves as a body in order to conduct the fight all failed or were sabotaged by Riverside.

 On two occasions, Riverside  brought county court actions against complaining leaseholders only to find that the judge threw out the cases and added critical comments about Riverside

After years of complaining and complete frustration, the trapped 400 managed to get the city council to help. The the council brought in an outside expert who addressed  their concerns at a public meeting.

Riverside reacted by trying to distance itself  and moved its rickety leaseholder administration  100 miles- from Carlisle to its head  office at Liverpool.

It is in Liverpool that Riverside`s long-distance  administration has continued. It is no more efficient than it was in Carlisle and is possibly worse because of the remoteness involved.

The trapped  400 are now hoping for help from Mrs May`s government which has recently proposed a ban on the future sale of houses as leasehold, as well as cutting ground rents to zero.

The hope is that the ban will be extended to present leaseholders.
  
 Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803