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Sting in the tail for council house buyers
Published July 2008
A Government scheme to bring social housing up to reasonable standards could leave some people homeless, it has been claimed. And Chris Bovey, a partner with Midland law firm MFG Solicitors, says it is threatening to become a big problem.
Hundreds of people who bought former council flats in England are receiving bills for thousands of pounds for repairs they say they cannot afford. The work is being carried out as part of the Decent Homes initiative.
The Government says it recognises the problem and has put a range of measures in place to deal with it. But they don’t appear to be working.
Most of the examples to date have been from the South-east, but the fear is that the Midlands could also be vulnerable.
In one instance involving a tower block in the London borough of Westminster the tenant decided to buy his flat for about £40,000. Now, the block is being extensively renovated, and as a leaseholder he is liable for his share of the £6 million cost. That is now estimated at £58,000, about three times his annual household income. He has been given three years to pay, but says he cannot afford to.
In Hackney in East London other leaseholders are being pursued to pay for work which has already been completed. They are being asked for the likes of £24,000 on flats bought for £58,000 in 1998. Mr Bovey said: “This is a big one. This involves people who have bought flats at discounted prices for the most part. “They are now being hit for large amounts of money per individual.”
The Government was pressing councils and housing associations to carry out repairs but had not fully thought threw the consequences. And these often took in substantial improvements involving the wider area including access, lighting and landscaping.
But tenants who had bought their flats often could not meet the bills, and would not be able to extend their mortgage in the current troubled financial climate.
While councils were generally giving them perhaps three years to pay this was not nearly long enough.
“It needs to be more like 10 years,” said Mr Bovey.
The Department for Communities and Local Government said the Government had spent £23 billion on improving social housing in England over the last 11 years. It added owning a home carried responsibilities for its maintenance and said it was working with councils to offer a range of flexible payment options.
It also said homeowners could refer disputes to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.
