Karen Buck speaks up in Parliament for council leaseholders facing ‘crippling’ Major Works bills
Posted by Karen Buck, MP for Regent's Park and Kensington North, at 15:21, Thu 2 November 2006:
Karen secured a short debate in Parliament yesterday to raise the plight of thousands of people, including pensioners and working families on low incomes, who have bought their former council flats and are now facing Major Works bills of up to £58,000. Although this problem affects lessees in many areas, it is particularly acute in Westminster, not least because of the history of the sales programme, which was part of the ‘Homes for Votes’ scandal found to have been illegal in the Court of Appeal in 2001.
In the debate, Karen described how today’s leaseholders, such as those on the Warwick estate, are paying the price for two decades of neglect of their homes- only being put right now because of the investment by the Labour government in the Decent Homes Initiative. Now many of them face having to leave or even lose their homes, because of the bills they face. To add insult to injury, many feel that they have too little control or means of seeking redress, and that their bills are neither clear not transparent. Considerable discretion is given to local councils to decide how to respond to leaseholders, and more needs to be done to help locally and nationally.
Karen called for much more generous assistance for low income home-owners, although she warned that a general ‘cap’ on the level of bills would also mean paying millions of pounds of public money to companies and larger property owners (Around 1 in every 4 ex-council properties in Westminster is in this category). She also asked for government support for:
- hardship schemes;
- greater flexibility to allow homeowners to sell part of their equity back to the council (and to buy it back later, if circumstances permit);
- support for private equity release schemes for people below pension age;
- new powers to allow for the establishment of ’sinking funds’ for future work;
- funding for independent legal and financial advice and easier ways to challenge landlords over Major Works.
In replying, the government minister welcomed the evidence that was being put forward, promised that the government was currently researching the problem- which did appear to be worse in Westminster than elsewhere- and would see what could be done to help.
Karen will be taking this matter forward. “I have already tabled additional Parliamentary Questions and talked to journalists to get a higher profile for this important issue. I have further meetings with Ministers planned and will make this a campaigning priority in the months ahead”.
Read the full debate via a link on her website: www.karenbuck.org.uk
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