Written evidence submitted by Mrs Andrea Leech [LHR 356]
Basic Details | ||
Full Name(s)
| Andrea Leech | |
Address
| *********************** ********** ******** ***********
| |
Correspondence Address (if different from above)
|
| |
Telephone number
| ****************** | |
Email address
| ************************************* | |
The Parties | ||
Original developer
| Taylor Wimpey | |
Current freeholder (if known)
| Adriatic Land 1 (GR3) Limited | |
Conveyancing solicitor who acted at time of purchase
| Bannister Preston | |
Current solicitor (if any)
| Watson Ramsbottom | |
Current mortgage company
| Skipton Building Society | |
Lease details | ||
Property type (please tick) | House | |
Flat |
| |
Lease start date
| January 2010 (I think - I know it started before my house was even built and before I purchased my house) | |
Lease length
|
250 years | |
Starting ground rent
| £295 p.a. | |
Current ground rent
| £295 | |
Review clause (please tick) | RPI every 5 years |
|
RP every 10 years |
| |
RPI every 15 years |
| |
RPI every 20 years |
| |
RPI other (please state) |
| |
Doubling every 5 years |
| |
Doubling every 10 years | | |
Doubling every 15 years |
| |
Doubling every 20 years |
| |
Doubling other (please state) |
| |
Other (please state)
|
| |
Permission clauses (please tick all that apply) | Subletting | |
Internal alterations |
| |
External alterations | | |
Internal structural alterations |
| |
External structural alterations | | |
Other (please state)
|
| |
I believe my lease is onerous because (please tick all that apply) | My ground rent is high (more than 0.1% of property value) | |
My ground rent review clause is onerous | | |
I have onerous permission clauses | | |
Other (please state)
|
| |
I have also had the following problems (please tick all that apply) | Aggressive selling techniques by the developer |
|
Told to complete quickly by the developer (less than 8 weeks) |
| |
Told to use recommended solicitor by the developer | | |
My solicitor failed to advise me on the onerous lease terms | | |
I was told I could buy the freehold for a discount after I bought the property, but when I tried to buy it, the freehold had been sold and the new freeholder refused to honour the agreement |
| |
Problems with the condition of my property |
| |
The roads have not been adopted |
| |
High service charges |
| |
Other (please state)
|
| |
Valuation | ||
Purchase price originally
| £199,500 | |
Discounts given by developer (state amounts and why)
| 5% Builder’s deposit | |
Cost to buy freehold / lease extension based on current lease terms (if you have it)
| I have not personally enquired, but my neighbour, who lives in the exact same house as me and also has the doubling lease, has asked and was told it would cost over £40,000 to purchase the freehold. | |
Have you tried to sell? | Yes |
|
No | | |
If yes, why didn’t it sell?
| We want to sell but haven’t yet tried to put it on the open market because several neighbours, living in the same houses, are trying to sell theirs, with no success – all have been on the market for some months now, with few viewings and no offers. We are hoping to part-exchange our house for a (freehold) new build, as we believe this is the only way we will be able to sell our property. | |
Help to buy | ||
Help to buy? | Yes |
|
No (if no, please ignore rest of this section) | | |
Help to buy repaid? (if applicable) | Yes |
|
No |
| |
If repaid, how much did you borrow initially? If repaid, how much did you repay?
|
| |
Details | ||
I first became aware of the potential problem with the lease when my neighbour’s sale fell through on her house two years ago, in around September 2016. Her buyer’s solicitor advised her buyers against going ahead with the purchase because of the onerous doubling ground rent clause in the lease. I was not advised by my solicitor, when I purchase the property, that this clause was onerous, would devalue my house and would potentially make it unsellable. I was encouraged by Taylor Wimpey’s sales staff to use their recommended solicitor, Bannister Preston, as this would speed up the whole process and, being keen to move, I did as I was advised. My concern is that I was not properly advised about the implications of the nature of this lease. My original conveyancing solicitor merely stated the terms of the lease but did not ever advise me that this was an onerous lease that would devalue my property and potentially make it very difficult, if not impossible, to re-mortgage or sell in the future. I have since had a retrospective valuation carried out by an independent expert, who, taking account of the lease, reported that my house was over-priced by approximately £43,400! I have a copy of his report and would be happy to provide it, if it would be useful.
| ||
I have considered adding a conservatory to my property. However, to even find out if I am allowed to do this, my landowner wants a fee over £100+ to just consider it. They then want architects’ drawings, surveyors’ reports, etc. which amounts to around £2,000, before I’ve even dug out the foundations. I am not prepared to pay all that money for nothing! A conservatory, I believe, does not require planning permission from the local council, so why is my freeholder imposing for such ridiculous charges?
| ||
My mental and physical health has suffered as a result of the stress and worry. I have trouble sleeping and find my thoughts constantly returning to the situation. I worry about being able to afford the ground rent in the future. I assumed, when I bought the house, that Taylor Wimpey would always be the landowners (I was never told they would sell on the land as soon as they completed the build: The first I knew about it was when I received a letter, 12 months after we moved it, informing me that TW had sold the land to a third party). I also assumed that I would be able to purchase the freehold from Taylor Wimpey before the ground rent doubled. I feel overwhelmed by the whole situation. I am suffering from stress-related health issues (severe digestive problems, which have been investigated and it has been concluded that stress is causing these problems). I am short-tempered with my children, through no fault of their own, because I am constantly worried about their future, our future, in this house. I worry I will not be able to sell it. I worry that I will struggle to re-mortgage in the future as more and more mortgage lenders become more aware of leasehold properties – some have announced they will not lend on houses whose ground rent is more than 0.01% of the property’s value. I find myself on the verge of tears when I think too long on it. Even with the conversion to an RPI-linked lease, I worry about the affordability of the ground rent in the future. I am angry at the solicitors - legal professionals, whom I paid for advice – as they did not advise me sufficiently. I would NEVER have bought this house if the implications of the ground rent provisions had been explained to me. It angers me that there are thousands of others, in the same situation as me, who are potentially stuck in houses that they will not be able to afford in the future. Furthermore, whilst I am trying to convert to the RPI lease, my mortgage lender, Skipton Building Society, are proving difficult. They want to appoint their own legal representation (for which I am expected to pay) to advise them on whether to give consent to the conversion! The whole point of the TW scheme was that it wasn’t going to cost me anything, yet, now I potentially have to pay for Skipton’s legal representation and even then, they still may not give consent – and then what? If Skipton say no, I am stuck with a doubling ground rent, in a house I cannot sell, paying a mortgage for nothing, for I will never own the house and I will not be able to afford the ground rent when I am retired AND, I have to pay their legal fees! If they do give consent, I am still out-of-pocket! I hate my house. I never thought I would feel that way about a house I fell in love with on first sight.
| ||
I believe leasehold should be completely abolished. Scotland has a system of commonhold – why not this for England? There is no good reason, in the 21st Century, for leasehold to exist on residential property. All existing ground rents should be reset to £0. Doubling ground rent clauses should be outlawed. Permission fees and restrictive covenants included in leases should be abolished. There should be a transparent method for calculating the costs to buy the freehold and it should be universal and in favour of the lessee, not the freeholder. It should cost no more than 10x original ground rent. The legal fees for the freeholder should be capped and reasonable – no more than a maximum of £1,000. The costs of enfranchisement need to be significantly reduced, and the lessee should not have to pay the freeholder’s costs in this situation.
| ||
| ||
Statement of Truth I confirm that the information set out in this form is true to the best of our knowledge and belief. I understand the legal implications of giving false or misleading information.
I am happy to send you a copy of the lease, should you require it. I would be prepared to provide further information or documentation to the Select Committee should it be of assistance.
Signed Andrea Leech
………………………………………….….
Dated 9th September 2018
|