Federation calls on the Secretary of State to end two tier system of property management
Following a meeting of leaseholders in Chichester last Friday, Federation Chairman Bob Smytherman has written to the Secretary of State with responsibility for the private leasehold sector calling for an independent regulator for the industry, similar to the one that regulates Council housing and housing associations.
This fresh call comes following a meeting last Friday of retirement sector leaseholders in Chichester, West Sussex which was organised by the campaign group CARLEX (Campaign Against Retirement Leasehold EXploitation) and attended by over 100 leaseholders along with representative from the industry and the local MP.
Speaking after the meeting, Bob Smytherman said:
“I was appalled to hear so many accounts of elderly leaseholders being ignored by managing agents and property managers when all they were asking for was answers to how their money was being spent and being told that if they set up a residents association they would not be seen as a representative group by their managing agent, despite this being included in the code of practice by the Association of the Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) who are responsible for enforcing high standards in the management of private retirement and sheltered housing by their members.”
“It’s quite clear that the industry are either unable or unwilling to regulate themselves and it is now time that the private sector should be brought in-line with that of the social housing sector and be accountable to a truly independent regulator and not one that is effectively a trade body defending their members rather than standing up for the rights of leaseholders.”
“Last year representatives from a variety of professional and leaseholder groups including the FPRA met twice with Civil Servants from the Department of Communities and Local Government to work on a scheme of independent regulation for managing agents and today we now calling on all political parties to commit to regulating the industry before the next General Election.”
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