Leasehold bosses will still rake in cash from homebuyers
£130m was pledged to cut rents following scandal, but ...
THOuSAndS of homeowners facing crippling ground rents feel they have been taken advantage of again – despite promises that they would finally get a fair deal on their leases.
developers faced a fierce backlash after selling new homes with ground rents that doubled every decade – making it all but impossible for the buyers to sell their properties.
In April, Taylor Wimpey pledged to fix the mess at the homes it had built and sold with these punitive contracts, setting aside £130m to cover the cost.
But instead of doubling every decade, ground rents will now rise in line with a discredited inflation rate that could still add hundreds of pounds to bills.
Families in the Taylor Wimpey homes affected will see ground rents linked to the retail prices index – or RPI.
This is typically higher than the widely used consumer prices index – or CPI.
Last month, James Tucker, of the Office for national Statistics, said RPI was ‘not a good measure and we do not recommend its use’.
Campaigners accused Taylor Wimpey of what they believe to be a scam – with one MP warning that ground rents could still double in a decade if RPI rose high enough.
At the moment, CPI is 2.9pc while RPI is 3.9pc. The switch from doubling ground rents to fees that rise in line with RPI follows deals with three major investors who bought the freeholds from Taylor Wimpey and now collect the money from the The investors include Long Harbour, which is run by William Waldorf Astor IV, the halfbrother of Samantha Cameron.
The others are Consensus Business Group, backed by property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz, with more than 300,000 freeholds worth at least £4bn, and E&J Estates.
Labour MP Justin Madders said the switch to RPI was ‘a start but it is not where we want to be’, adding: ‘It could even be worse, depending on what happens to RPI.’
Sebastian O’Kelly, of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership campaign group, said: ‘This is not a great deal. It is good because it gets some people on doubling ground rents out of a sticky hole, but it should be CPI not RPI. Taylor Wimpey needs to stop treating customers this way. It is one scam after another. Taylor Wimpey is still tryhomeowners. ing to play games.’
A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey, whose boss Pete Redfern was paid £3.8m last year, said: ‘The ten-year doubling lease has caused some concerns to our customers and we wanted to address this. With these agreements, concerns around saleability and mortgageability will be addressed. We were under no legal obligation to take action but we want to help our customers.’
Long Harbour said: ‘The lead shown by Long Harbour, whose investors are voluntarily varying such leases, means other institutional investors should follow and, more importantly, allow those adversely impacted to resolve their worries.’
E&J said: ‘We are working hard to ensure all leaseholders with a ten- year doubling of ground rent clause have the option for this to be amended, such that ground rents rise by no more than inflation.’ Consensus Business Group could not be reached for comment.