A judicial review brought by a group of landowners who claim leasehold reform is a breach of their human rights has been slammed as ‘sickening’ and a ‘David and Goliath’ battle by campaigners.
The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) claims the legal move may not be to win, but rather to delay the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LAFRA) ‘for years’ with the effect of ‘leaving leaseholders stranded in a feudal nightmare’.
In a statement released as the judicial review was launched in the High Court on Tuesday, the NLC said of the landowners:
“It seems they believe the human rights of leaseholders shouldn’t get in the way of their profit-making empires.”
The nine freeholders, who between them claim to own the freehold interest in more than 390,000 leasehold flats and houses across England and Wales, say LAFRA breaches their right to private property under Protocol 1, Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
They claim they could lose hundreds of millions of pounds due to the changes, which they say will also impact their charitable giving.
In a Commons debate on Monday, MPs shared stories of constituents who they said had been affected by issues with the leasehold system.
Kevin Bonavia (Labour MP for Stevenage) said his constitutent Ed ‘has been trapped for years in an unsellable flat after the building failed its EWS1assessment because Higgins Homes had not followed its own architectural plans’.
“He has faced uncapped and unregulated service charges and utility billing, and the threat of disconnection, while seeing the saleable value of his property decrease by more than £70,000.”
Sam Carling, Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire, said leasehold residents in Fletton Quays, managed by Gateway Properties, had been subjected to a 150% increase in service charges in the last two years.
“Flats are under warranty and faults should be fixed by Western Homes, which built the property, but instead are being fixed by Gateway, which has increased the service charge and, I understand, has even been sending separate bills on top.”
Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Tom Gordon said a constitutent who was paying ‘a considerable amount’ in service charges was asked to pay an extra £7,000 for work on the property’s roof within 30 days of completion.
“There was limited consultation, and leaseholders had no choice in who carried out the works.”
In response, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the government will defend the legal challenge ‘robustly’, adding:
“We remain committed to giving leaseholders greater rights, powers and protections in respect of their homes, and bringing the feudal leasehold system to an end.”
In the meantime, the NLC says leaseholders are ‘nervously awaiting the outcome’.
“There is a real human impact that cannot be underestimated. For too many years, leaseholders have been exploited by feudal leasehold laws which are not fit for the 21st century.
“It cannot go on. The current status quo must not be maintained, and this is the opportunity for meaningful change. Leaseholders deserve better. Enough is enough.”
