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April 25, 2024
3 minute read
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has just announced the appointment of four Non-Executive Directors of the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) Board. We are proud to announce that our CEO Paula Higgins will be joining Kim Caddy, Wendy Wilson, and Emer McNally on the Board.
Paula states “I’m very excited to join LEASE at such a crucial time and am keen to get stuck in to ensure wider access to LEASE’s advice services for all leaseholders, including shared owners. Leasehold is a notoriously complicated area of law, and even more so as we are waiting for the outcome of the Leasehold Reform Bill currently in Parliament. Therefore it’s important that ALL leaseholders, current and future, understand their rights and to be able to easily access the legal advice they may need.”
LEASE provides government funded but independent advice on leasehold, building safety, commonhold, and park home issues. As an advisory service, LEASE aims to improve general knowledge about the practical implications of being a leaseholder or park homeowner. LEASE also highlights government actions and reforms within the leasehold sector, so homeowners can make more informed decisions when purchasing a property.
The new Board will provide advice and challenge to the chief executives of LEASE in their running of the organisation.
“We are delivering significant reforms through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill that will improve homeownership for millions of people.
I welcome the strengthening of the leadership of LEASE with the appointment of the new board members as it continues to undertake its important role on behalf of leaseholders and homeowners.”
“I am very pleased to welcome our new non-executive directors to LEASE. Kim, Paula, Wendy, and Emer have an exceptional level of knowledge and a wealth of experience in the housing sector and in senior executive roles. I am looking forward to working with them and believe they will bring a lot to LEASE, particularly at such a critical time of radical transformation.”
In 2017 we published a Homes Held Hostage report that examined the true scale of the leasehold property market, as well as, the widespread malpractice and lack of consumer understanding. The report showed how 1.577 million British ‘owner-occupiers’ did not truly own their own home in the eyes of the law, and how leasehold is exacerbating the country’s homeownership crisis. We have been campaigning ever since for the abolition of this feudal system.
The strengthening of LEASE comes at a critical time, while Parliament is deciding on the course of action for leasehold reform. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was announced in The Kings Speech in 2023 and introduced to the House of Commons. In January this year, Paula gave oral evidence to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill Committee. You can watch her evidence on our YouTube channel below.
For more information on what leasehold reforms are in the pipeline you can read more here. You can also sign up to our newsletter to stay informed.
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