Give us your bonus, say Persimmon leaseholders

PERSIMMON homeowners ‘trapped’ in controversial leasehold deals have hit out at the firm’s chief executive who is in line for a £130million bonus while they fork out thousands of pounds in ground rents and fees.

Some called on Jeff Fairburn to donate his bonus to leaseholders affected by the ‘feudal’ practice.

Last month, the Government pledged to ban the sale of new leasehold homes. But existing leasehold homebuyers still have to pay ground rents to the freeholders. If they wish to buy their freehold, it can cost thousands of pounds.

Firms such as Persimmon have sold on freeholds to third parties.

Katie Kendrick, founder of the National Leasehold Campaign, said the Persimmon bonus scheme, which could yield £800million for its top team, was an ‘insult to the millions of leaseholders caught up in the leasehold scandal that developers have created’.

She urged Fairburn to donate his bonus to leaseholders ‘to enable them to own the land their homes sit on’.

Chris Cooke, who bought a Persimmon home in Yeovil for £272,000, faces paying £4,000 – double what he was initially quoted – to buy the freehold. He said: ‘They are using their customers’ lack of experience to enable them to continue extracting money long after they thought they had purchased their dream home.’

A Persimmon spokesman said: ‘We are unable to tell our customers how much it would cost to purchase the leasehold in years to come as it is dependent on the market and economy at that time.’