With leaseholder and shared owner complaints hitting the national news, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act receiving Royal Assent and shared ownership being investigated by MPs, housing professionals are facing a perfect storm of strategic and operational challenges.

This year’s Leasehold Network annual conference is designed to provide expert guidance and support to leasehold teams trying to manage a range of complex issues, from the rising cost of service charges and the problems surrounding shared ownership to the ongoing building safety crisis and its impact on leaseholders.

You will get to hear from HQN leasehold experts Helen Muir and Jackie Dickins on the risks facing the sector as well as the technical detail of best practice in managing different leases, service charges, Section 20 procedures and sinking funds.

As shared owners complain that they have been sold a risky financial burden instead of an affordable opportunity to get on the housing ladder hear directly from Sue Phillips, campaigner and founder of Shared Ownership Resources on what she thinks should change and listen to colleagues in the sector who are already tackling affordability issues and what they have learnt.

Mark Foxcroft from Devonshires will provide an update on the latest leasehold case law, including both building safety and insurance issues.

We’ll also hear from leasehold team leaders on the day-to-day challenges they are facing and what they are doing to try and keep both residents and colleagues happy.

Key sessions include:

• An overview of the leasehold and shared ownership sector’s present state and what it means for housing associations and local authorities
• A breakdown of the key components of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act and what they mean for you and your leaseholders
• Find out about proposed changes to shared ownership and how to improve affordability for owners
• The latest best practice advice on leases, service charges and fees
• Hear from the legal experts on the latest case law impacting the sector.

This half-day virtual event is aimed at both strategic staff thinking about future development plans, home ownership products and services as well as managers and officers dealing with operational challenges.

10:00 Welcome and introduction

• • Helen Muir, The Leasehold Network, HQN

10:05 The state of the leasehold and shared ownership sector

• • Helen Muir, The Leasehold Network, HQN

We will explore the issues that journalists and campaigners are raising, what is still left to deal with for the new government coming in on 5 July and why we need to listen and act now.

10:25 The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act – what it means for the social housing sector

• • John Murray, partner  Ward Hadaway’s Social Housing Group

With the bill making it quickly through wash-up at the end of the last parliamentary session before the general election, we will provide an overview of what the Act covers, what details are still left to sort out and the likely implications for the sector.

10:55   Break

11:10 Enhancing shared ownership

• • Sue Phillips, Author, Shared Ownership Resources

  • Dr Alison Wallace, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing, University of York

As a key participant in the recent DLUHC committee inquiry into shared ownership, Sue will give her response to their report published in March and the government’s response in May and its implications for owners and social housing landlords.

Dr Alison Wallace will share her thoughts on how best to improve shared ownership, informed by both her previous experience in the social  housing sector and her research work into shared ownership.

11:40 Challenges in leases, service charges and fees

• • Jackie Dickins, HQN Associate

Jackie will update the conference on the upcoming revisions to the RICS service charges code of practice and outline its implications for providers as well as highlighting current issues and best practice in dealing with the technical details of leasehold management such as Section 20 notices, sinking funds and model leases in shared ownership, including 1% staircasing and the essential repairs allowance.

12:10  Affordability issues for service charges and fees

• • Adrian Shaw, Head of Rent & Service Charge, L&Q

  • Deborah Viljoen, Metropolitan Thames Valley

Hear from two leading practitioners about how they are helping customers to manage increasing service charge bills as well as tackle wider affordability issues as mortgage costs and rents continue to increase.  They will explore what options are there and when to use them.

12:40  Legislation and regulation – the latest developments

• • Mark Foxcroft, Devonshires

Mark will update delegates on recent case law affecting leasehold and explore the roles and responsibilities of landlords and leaseholders in relation to fire safety regulations, building safety legislation and multi-occupancy building insurance rules amongst other current issues.

13:10 Closing remarks

• • Helen Muir, The Leasehold Network, HQN

13:15 Close

Helen Muir, HQN associate

Helen has extensive experience of shared ownership, having worked in senior roles for two large housing groups where her responsibilities included sales programme delivery and the management of over 5,000 shared ownership/leasehold homes, along with running the largest Help to Buy agency in England.

As a consultant Helen specialises in affordable home ownership and leasehold management, and has provided interim management and strategic and operational support to a number of registered providers, local authorities and private sector companies. Helen also supports the Leasehold Network, writing briefings and speaking at several events.

Jackie Dickins, HQN associate

Jackie Dickins has been an HQN Associate since 2001 and is our lead consultant for HQN’s Leasehold Network. Prior to this she held positions at a London borough and two large housing associations based in London, where she was responsible for leasehold management and promoting work in the field of low-cost home ownership initiatives. Jackie undertakes many of HQN’s service reviews and service improvement work on leaseholder and home ownership. She has also worked in interim positions with a number of local authorities, arm’s length management organisations and housing associations as Head of Home Ownership/Home Ownership Manager.

Jackie also runs pre-exam workshops at associate and member level for the Institute of Residential Property Managers (IRPM) and is delivering training for apprentices seeking associate membership of the IRPM.

Jackie is responsible for developing, and is a lead assessor of HQN’s leasehold accreditation scheme.

John Murray, Partner, Ward Hadaway’s Social Housing Group

John is a partner in Ward Hadaway’s Social Housing Group and has specialised in housing law since 1987. Ward Hadaway are a top 100 law firm with offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester. Ward Hadaway’s Social Housing Group offer a comprehensive range of  legal services  to the social housing sector on a national basis.

John acts for both housing associations and local authorities in relation to housing management litigation throughout the North of England and Midlands.

He is appointed as a Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

Sue Phillips, Campaigner and Founder, Shared Ownership Resources

Sue launched Shared Ownership Resources, in 2021, to champion the interests of shared owners and households considering shared ownership. The project publishes case studies, collaborates with housing, legal and financial experts to offer specialist information and advice; and campaigns for improved transparency and better outcomes and against mis-selling and other poor practices in the sector.

She has spoken at events including Homes UK 2023 and the British New Homes Mortgage Senate 2022. In May 2023, she published Shared Ownership: The Consumer Perspective.

Sue is a qualified chartered accountant (retired), writer and former shared owner.

Deborah Viljoen, Metropolitan Thames Valley 

Deborah has worked within the social housing sector for 29 years with a mixed background from repairs, keyworker, housing management, homeownership, service charges, income collection for both rented and Homeownership. She has also worked within Local Authorities and Housing Associations.

Deborah is currently working within Homeownership at MTVH including service charges and rent setting. Although for the first time in many years not leading on homeownership income collection, she still supports that function within MTVH with complex cases and will now be leading on energy billing for homeowners and tenants.

Dr Alison Wallace, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing, University of York

Alison is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing at the University of York and has been part of the Centre for Housing Policy since 2001.  She has led impactful policy oriented research projects relating to the sustainability of marginal homeownership, shared ownership housing, private landlords and housing inequalities. More recently interest has developed in housing and digital technologies.

Previously a social housing practitioner with many years experience, Alison completed  doctoral research in 2007. She served as the secretary of the Housing Studies Association and was a committee member between 2011 and 2014, and is a trustee of the Housing Studies Charitable Trust since 2019, and a Churchill Fellow – for work on homeownership education in the US – since 2016.

Mark Foxcroft, Devonshires Solicitors

Mark’s practice encompasses all aspects of contentious property litigation on matters relating to both residential and commercial property. In particular, Mark specialises in leasehold matters and has extensive experience representing clients in the First Tier and Upper Tribunals. This work includes claims for forfeiture, service charge disputes, lease variations and extensions, statutory consultation and contentious boundary disputes.

In recent years, Mark has and continues to advise numerous Registered Provider clients in relation to fire safety issues in residential buildings.

Mark also has a busy housing management practice advising and representing Registered Provider and Local Authority clients in relation to possession proceedings, applications for injunctions and claims for disrepair and statutory nuisance.

Mark also provides non-contentious advice to clients including the drafting of tenancy agreements and policies and procedures and lease interpretation.

Adrian Shaw, Head of Rent and Service Charge, L&Q

Adrian joined L&Q in June 2021 where his responsibility covers rent and service charge administration and s20 consultation. He is also recognised as a leasehold expert within the housing association sector. He was previously Head of Service Charges at Clarion Housing Group and prior to that was Director of Commercial and Leasehold Services for Circle Housing Group. He became a Fellow of The Property Institute in November 2023 and is also AssocRICS. He is a board member of the National Leasehold Group and previously chaired their service charge group.