I’m pleased to announce that on March 5th, the week after the PLSA’s annual conference, Norma Cohen , Harry Skoffin and I will be sitting down at the Pension PlayPen Coffee Table to work out what pension schemes should be dong about what (for them) are infinitesimally small allocations to residential freeholds but which are to some members (usually grannies and grandpas) are a means of financial impoverishment – of eviction and homelessness,
That good man, John Chilman, CEO of Railpen has announced that putting the wellbeing of elderly people at risk , is not worth a tick above the gilt rate. Railpen have seen beyond the financials and recognised the peril of enforcing “money for nothing” ground rents at a time of economic hardship.
I suspect that the PLSA have listened to his arguments (see video below). A cost of living crisis need not be made worse to satisfy a financial promise of an anti-social investment strategy.
I hope that the PLSA , over the next fortnight, will come out with a positive statement on their position on ground rents that has those rents trending to zero. If that is the case, there may be a little Irish whiskey in the coffee – Tuesday week.
But now to more serious business. The consequence of non-payment of ground rent is that the leaseholder forfeits the lease which reverts to the freeholder. Norma is straightforward about this
Forfeiture is a legal form of extortion that freeholders can use to force leaseholders to pay the most questionable fees even when no proof is provided. ‘Pay up or we will seize the flat you paid hundreds of thousands to occupy’. Forfeiture must go! @FreeLeasehlders https://t.co/CRNdKrQxMm
— Norma Cohen (@NormaCohen3) February 19, 2024
Unbelievably, there is a twitter campaign , backed by the Freeholder’s Lobby to put Granny at the centre of its campaign on the basis that evicting her might give her (likely overfunded ) pension more breathing space from the PPF – pull the other one.
You can hear all this and more on this marvellous video which includes the repentant John Chiman at minute 12.
