Below is an invitation to what has over the weekend become even more topical. It’s revealed that Lloyds bank has stealthily become one of the five biggest landlords in Britain.

According to a spokesperson talking with the FT, they are looking to fulfil the “S” in ESG and offer social housing to those who cannot afford to buy. This is a good thing, I would rather have a landlord who was regulated and is fresh from the nightmare of car financing (a nightmare for Lloyds and also for those overcharged in an unregulated mess).

Why it makes Harry Scoffin’s session tomorrow at the Pension PlayPen is it throws into stark relief the lack of controls on freeholders to those paying ground rents set by the eventual “landlord” , the freehold. It would be great to hear Lloyds side of the story as I suspect this is their opportunity to explain how they can help clean up the mess freeholders create.

The link to the session at 10.30 tomorrow (Tuesday) is below but I know last week some people had problems with the click through.

Here is the code,

If you have any problems with the link- you can use this longer link which can be pasted into your diary

stick it in your diary and make sure you are there to hear a fascinating conversation.

Background

If you don’t know what Harry is up to and why this matters to pensions read below and the second blog on M&G and Rothesay and the mess they are in after benefitting from residential ground rents

Here’s more about Harry’s amazing year and the progress he’s making to get leaseholders out of Freeholder Ground Rents and into Commonhold and Peppercorn Ground Rents!

Harry on LBC this month

Harry Scoffin will be speaking at the Pension PlayPen at 10.30 am on Tuesday 11th November. It is of course armistice day and I hope we will break for a minute at 11am to remember that. Please join us for our next online Coffee Morning event.

Harry tells me he has examples of pension companies (well mainly annuity companies) campaigning to keep freeholders in charge of leaseholder’s property affairs. I know as a leaseholder that freeholders are anonymous but ugly in their behaviour. I want to find out more and though I’m going to be in the University College Hospital on remembrance day, though it is my 64th birthday – I will be on this call!

It would be helpful if you could sign in to tell us you can join us at http://www.pensionplaypen.com/events.

You can join the meeting directly on this link

Further detail of Harry’s recent work.

A blog in support of commonhold and Harry Scoffin

A “black out” elsewhere? Well not quite everywhere. This blog will continue to push for the rights of leaseholders to be treated fairly. Freeholders’s “woke hold band” will continue to resist change unless the voice of Harry Scoffin and those few who he can afford to work with him – is heard.

LBC should be commended, we will publicise the chance of a freehold and leasehold law being kicked to the end of parliament to be washed up and lost as Michael Gove’s was.

The Daily Mail is supportive of positive change. Here is Harry Scoffin in the Guardian.

In 1986  a former Duke of Westminster lost his right to abuse his freehold rights as a freeholder. The Duke lost to the Thatcher Government, but 40 years later nothing has come of it. Listen to Scoffin’s impassioned call on us to sign up to support him at

www.freeleaseholders.org.uk  where you can sign the letter below

His appeal is to us as and most to campaigner Keir Starmer.

COMMONHOLD FOR THE MANY, NOT JUST THE NEW

Dear Keir Starmer,

Millions of leaseholders across England and Wales lent Labour their votes at the last election because your party’s manifesto pledged to end the leasehold system.

In your first King’s Speech, you promised that you would act “quickly” on leasehold and the 5.3 million leasehold households expect you to deliver.

We welcome your government’s push to reinvigorate commonhold, but there is dismay among existing leaseholders that we may be left behind while future buyers benefit – and will have to wait at least four more years for commonhold.

Meanwhile, Big Freeholders are trying to thwart the will of the people. They’re suing your government and will no doubt take their judicial review trolling all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

You must not cave to this campaign of intimidation by rich vested interests. 

By requiring commonhold for new properties only, you create a two-tier housing market: one where legacy leaseholders are denied freedom and forced to live under different rules from buyers of new flats, who enjoy outright ownership and democratic rights as commonholders.

This will make it almost impossible for existing leaseholders to sell their homes – and leave them being milked by freeholders and their managing agents.

That’s why we’re calling on you to say no to two-tier, Keir – and deliver commonhold for the many, not just the new.

In 1995, Labour under Tony Blair promised they would deliver “an end to feudalism” by introducing commonhold and, 30 years on, leaseholders are still waiting.

Please don’t be paralysed by Big Freeholders’ lawfare. Leaseholders cannot be forced to wait for Strasbourg. Your government has the second biggest majority in Labour’s 125-year history – use it!

Truly ending leasehold means commonhold for the many, not just the new.