@NormaCohen3 Indeed. And why should leaseholders pay freeholders for 'development value' when buying out the freehold? It's a 'heads I win, tails you lose' option - usually obtained by deceptive marketing of newbuild flats with intention of blocking exercise of first right of refusal on FH.
Rising numbers of Britain’s landlords are putting their properties up for sale as a result of increasing regulatory and tax pressures, new research suggests. https://t.co/KIHPriSQZm
King Charles - showing you why you shouldn't be accepting OBEs for leasehold reform campaigning from him, nor should you be fooled by the ecology advocacy.
Channel 4 News has uncovered that the King’s private estate tried to sell land contaminated with toxic illegal waste in Wigan to the local council.
In January, Channel 4 News revealed the 25,000-ton site, dubbed UK’s “most dangerous illegal waste dump”, was on land largely owned by the Duchy of Lancaster - the King’s extensive private portfolio of properties and estates.
When approached by the programme the Duchy of Lancaster said it had offered to transfer the land to the council last year - however, correspondence obtained via a Freedom of Information request reveals it actually tried to sell the site at full market price.
Wigan Council told Channel 4 News it “respectfully declined” the Duchy’s offer.
The Duchy told us today "We continue to work with Wigan Council to try and find an effective resolution to the illegal waste site."
Data proves there is no housing shortage in London. It's an affordability crisis. Activating leasehold reforms faster will be far more effective than building new homes in solving London's housing crisis. @LKPleasehold https://t.co/K4KDztwnBk
Dear @BBCPanorama & @C4Dispatches please shine a light on the way a London Council appears to be using the same tactics (at Royal Artillery Quays) that lead to the Grenfell Tower fire. @polluterpays has reims of documentary evidence to support your investigations. ⬇️
After authorising a council position denying the existence of ALL evidence of dangerous and unlawful construction at build at 8 tall tower blocks in Woolwich despite being sent them and allowing harrassment allegations to be sent to a worried resident just for caring about the safety of their buildings, we must not allow Labour Greenwich Council Leader Anthony Okereke from Labour another term to harm Greenwich any further. His council is repeating the same mistakes of Grenfell.
Look at all the evidence below Anthony's council says doesn't exist despite being sent it.
@MrOkereke #OkerekeOut @Royal_Greenwich@Matthew82069336@LibdemCharlie@abenaopp@GreenwichLibDem@GreenGreenwich@ReformGreenwich@TheMurkyDepths
@polluterpaysbsb Thx. That make's Greenwich Council's flip-flopping look more likely to be due to pressure from developer imo (as opposed to trying to cover up the Council inspectors' negligence - a factor driving Council shenanigans at other estates, but with zero legal redress v Council)
@polluterpaysbsb Did the Council or NHBC or another org's inspectors sign off at the time of construction ? I know it makes no difference to the valid point being made here. And Councils are protected under English law from liability for negligent sign-off (another injustice). I'm researching ...
Leading Grenfell Inquiry Counsel Stephanie Barwise KC attacks @Royal_Greenwich council position denying the existence of ALL evidence of unlawful and dangerous construction at build at 8 tall tower blocks in Woolwich.
Repeating the same dismissing of residents as at #Grenfell.
Time for Greenwich council to withdraw this false council position. Immediately. It's been a year.
The Labour Councillors that need to act are : @MrOkereke@racheltaggart5@JJamiecarswell
@FloEshalomi Sadly the exact same pattern you describe at Grenfell is playing out now at Royal Artillery Quays as their Council denies the evidence and PAS 9980 allows flammable materials to remain on blocks. Please listen to @polluterpaysbsb to understand before history repeats itself. 🙏
🔥 “Everyone dies in the end.”
That was the response from @reformparty_uk Housing Spokesman Simon Dudley when asked about the Grenfell fire tragedy. Let that sink in.
72 people didn’t just “die”. They were failed—by a system, by regulation, and by an industry that cut corners and walked away. Even Grenfell United called the remarks “dehumanising” and a denial of responsibility.
Dudley has now been sacked by Reform UK. Good. But this isn’t just about one comment. It exposes a deeper problem in how parts of the housing debate still minimise accountability.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth:
👉 We are STILL asking innocent leaseholders to pay for industry failure.
Right now, around 1.7 million leaseholders are excluded from protections and could face ruinous bills to fix defects they didn’t cause.
And instead of full remediation, we’re seeing partial fixes under PAS9980—leaving buildings partially remediated uninsurable, unsellable, and fundamentally unresolved.
That’s not justice. That’s managed decline.
💡 There is a solution:
The Polluter Pays amendment led by the Earl of Lytton.
It would:
✔ Make developers and contractors legally responsible for ALL defects
✔ Fund remediation across the entire system—not just “qualifying” cases
✔ Protect every leaseholder, not just a subset
✔ Remove the need for costly legal battles
✔ End the broken, three-tier system distorting the housing market
In short:
👉 Fix the buildings properly
👉 Protect homeowners
👉 Make the industry pay for its mistakes
No more half-measures. No more exclusions. No more passing the bill to the victims.
Grenfell was not inevitable.
And neither is the injustice that followed.
Read more about the solution here : https://t.co/6mb7YFFbg3
@GideonJAmos@LibdemCharlie@kevinhollinrake@abenaopp@PhilH23@KathPinnock@Bobby_Dean@team_greenhalgh@gtomlin@dominicahern
Can't think of many better illustrations of how badly we have botched housing policy than the fact that our bill for housing homeless families (£2.8bn pa) is now higher than the money we spend each year on new affordable housing (£2.3bn)
https://t.co/ACqB1T0En7
Of course, the same Simon Dudley who - as leader of Windsor Council - branded rough sleeping a "voluntary choice" and called on the police to clear the town of homeless people ahead of the Royal Wedding because they "present a beautiful town in an unfavourable light"
UK’s £16bn housing bank aims to protect developers from Iran shock https://t.co/XQWtZtUPIB via @ft
But zero protection for: leaseholders being rinsed by freeholders, non-qualifying cladding victims or the horror newbuild cases like @dannybster