Leasehold row: Now MPs blame shoddy legal advice
LAWYERS were accused last night of failing thousands of families stuck with toxic home leases.
They face a Governmentbacked inquiry over claims they did not warn buyers about ‘feudal’ terms and rip-off charges.
Some families have been forced to pay rent on the ground beneath their homes that can double every ten years.
They also face exorbitant ‘permission charges’ to make changes such as building a conservatory or replacing a front door.
However, many of those affected say their conveyancing solicitor had not made them aware of such costs – or that they had struck deals with developers including referral fees.
As many as 100,000 families are thought to be stuck with ‘onerous’ leaseholds, which have effectively made homes unsellable.
Campaigners accused solicitors of acting as ‘stooges’ for developers, pushing exploitative leases to families desperate to get on the housing ladder.
Developers often suggest buyers use certain legal firms when buying a lease, a Parliamentary inquiry was told. But sometimes buyers were not made aware of referral agreements between lawyers and developers.
It is claimed this could lead to conflicts of interest. Sebastian O’Kelly, of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, said: ‘ It’s quite obvious there is a very cosy relationship between the legal profession and developers.’
The Government warned it could take action as Housing Secretary James Brokenshire ordered the Solicitors Regulation Authority to probe the claims.
A spokesman for his department said: ‘Solicitors have a responsibility to put their clients first and act in their best interests, and not allow their independence to be compromised.’
The SRA last night urged affected families to come forward, while the Law Society said a complaints procedure was in place.
The Mail has led the way in exposing the leasehold scandal – including where clauses make ground rents double every decade. It has been dubbed the ‘PPI of the housebuilding industry’.
HAVING first tried to blame the victims of the ‘toxic lease’ scandal for their own misfortune, the Government has now decided it was all the fault of the solicitors who did the conveyancing.
Upwards of 100,000 families are languishing in homes they bought new but now can’t sell because of leases foisted on them by greedy developers, which allow spiralling ground rents and other onerous charges.
So yes, if solicitors failed to advise their clients that such leases would make their properties virtually unsaleable, they have been negligent and should be sanctioned.
But the real villains here remain the developers themselves. These leases were a cynical device for squeezing every last penny from unsuspecting buyers.
The big construction firms knew exactly what they were doing and should now be made to right this callous wrong.
With profits rolling in, thanks in part to the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, they can well afford to compensate the victims of their squalid racket. And instead of shirking responsibility, ministers should be forcing them to do so.