Peckham leaseholders face a difficult choice
May 1st, 2017
Southwark News reports that leaseholders in Peckham are facing a large bill for major works. This has always been one of the downsides of being either a first (got the discount) or second generation (didn’t get the discount) right to buy leaseholder. I made a comment below the article in the hope of starting a discussion but this hasn’t happened and so I’m going to repeat the comment here:-
“Refund those leaseholders who so choose the money they paid for the flats in the first place and change their terms back to those of a council tenant. Both parties gain. The leaseholder gets a lump sum, keeps their home and the council gets a property back on their books.”
That’s what I think. This is a very clear cut and specific case. This is not like regeneration where a leaseholder tackles a loss of home and the estate, this is a case where there ought to be (in my opinion) a straight foward buy back option by the council so that a leaseholder not able to afford the major works bill can return to being a council tenant by a refund of the money they paid for the flat.
The alternative is worse in that they would probably be repossessed and made homeless and I fear an application to the council for emergency housing under those circumstances might go badly.
The whole thing is a mess created by right to buy but we are where we are.
Peckham estate leaseholders to be hit with £115,000 ‘major works’ bills by council