Briefings
Topical issues, legislative and policy changes, and the latest operational issues all explained in an easy-to-read format, with suggestions for future action. These specialist briefings provide guidance, comment, suggested actions and good practice information on all the key issues for leasehold teams across the sector.
Briefings
Briefings are free to members.
Non-members may purchase selected briefings for a fee. Contact us on 01904 557150 to enquire or join the network for full access to all briefings as part of your membership.
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| Format | Status | Title | Description | Size | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Leasehold enfranchisement – a brief overview | File size: 298KB | Published Date: 16/10/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Guidance note: S146 notices and forfeiture | File size: 604KB | Published Date: 11/09/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Network briefing – The Social Housing Green Paper | File size: 990KB | Published Date: 17/08/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | MHCLG executive summary – A new deal for social housing | File size: 3MB | Published Date: 17/08/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Network briefing – Leasehold redress in social housing | File size: 676KB | Published Date: 31/07/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: relative values | File size: 1MB | Published Date: 16/07/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Building a safer future - the Hackitt Review: An overview | File size: 901KB | Published Date: 08/06/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: funding emergency works to cladding and waking watches | File size: 353KB | Published Date: 20/04/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: Gas Safety Regulations - April 2018 | File size: 276KB | Published Date: 19/03/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: an end to unfair and abusive practices in leasehold | File size: 1MB | Published Date: 13/02/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Revised guidance: The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 | File size: 144KB | Published Date: 02/02/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: the case for commonhold | File size: 746KB | Published Date: 04/01/2018 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: Data Protection what leasehold teams at social landlords must know | File size: 984KB | Published Date: 06/12/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Shared Ownership – changes and opportunities | File size: 2MB | Published Date: 09/11/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: leasehold management fees | File size: 315KB | Published Date: 05/10/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Commentary: Tackling unfair leasehold practices | File size: 129KB | Published Date: 12/09/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market | File size: 875KB | Published Date: 04/09/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: Grenfell Tower aftermath | File size: 286KB | Published Date: 10/08/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: following the Grenfell Tower fire, London | This is a briefing, drafted by The Health and Safety Network which considers all the information, guidance, facts and speculation that have emerged since this shocking event and provides some initial guidance with regard to the actions that leasehold teams should consider. | File size: 219KB | Published Date: 20/07/2017 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: an overview of Wandsworth Council’s Right to Part Buy | File size: 300KB | Published Date: 07/07/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: gaining popularity – the shared ownership tenure | File size: 185KB | Published Date: 07/07/2017 | Download | ||
| Current | Briefing: making leasehold pay - income recovery | Ahead of one of the topics at the forthcoming best practice workshops, this new briefing takes a look at the movement from credit control and arrears management towards 'legal action'. | File size: 320KB | Published Date: 15/05/2017 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: The Housing White Paper 2017 – a leasehold perspective | This briefing by Ann Faulkner explores a number of solutions are set out in the proposals and the relevance to leasehold practitioners. | File size: 318KB | Published Date: 22/03/2017 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: leasehold case law update 2016 | This briefing by Lauren Pond and Jonathan Hulley of Clarke Willmott looks at three significant and different legal case studies, which will certainly provide food for thought going forward. | File size: 203KB | Published Date: 07/12/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: event fees in retirement properties | In 2014, the DCLG asked the Law Commission to investigate event fees. Some leases require the leaseholder to pay a fee on certain events, such as sale or sub-letting. These fees, which are referred to as 'event fees', are common in specialist housing for older people, but rare in other residential leases. | File size: 251KB | Published Date: 09/11/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: Section 20 consultation and the intermediate landlord | At this summer’s Leasehold Excellence Network London and South-East best practice workshop there was a lively debate regarding Section 20 consultation where there is an intermediate landlord. | File size: 177KB | Published Date: 08/09/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: portability and the Voluntary Right to Buy | In October 2015, housing associations agreed to work with the government to deliver its election commitment to extend the Right to Buy | File size: 223KB | Published Date: 18/08/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: Tackling Right to Buy Fraud | Following the introduction of the Right to Buy for council tenants in 1980, two million households have purchased their council homes. A spike of sales in the early 1980s saw 160,000 properties a year transferring into private ownership, but by 2011, and following the property crash, this was down to 4,000. | File size: 148KB | Published Date: 11/05/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: administering Service Charges effectively | It is likely that very few social landlords recover all of the service charges due to them from their tenants, leaseholders and freeholders. Efficient administration and collection of service charges for landlords with a large stock of mixed tenure properties is not easy, and there are a good number of circumstances that occur which can lead to errors and miscalculations which have a negative impact on service charge collection. This guidance looks at the main areas which can be contributing factors to a shortfall in service charge income. | File size: 181KB | Published Date: 14/04/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: Update on voluntary Right to Buy (VRTB) and the pilot schemes | This month's briefing for members looks at the development of the Right to Buy pilots and the latest issues across the sector for both housing associations and local authorities & ALMOs. | File size: 199KB | Published Date: 23/03/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: ensuring financial inclusion | Welfare benefit provision has been reducing in recent years and the ‘safety net’ provision is gradually being removed. | File size: 234KB | Published Date: 03/02/2016 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: leaseholders in social housing: paying for major works | As a Leasehold Excellence Network member, you’ll doubtless be aware of this House of Commons briefing paper from your news update last month. You may have been somewhat surprised by the appearance of the paper, although less than surprised that it contained nothing new. | File size: 83KB | Published Date: 17/12/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: how the ARHM is taking forward the recommendations of the CMA’s report | A phrase which seems to be becoming more common place is ‘last time buyers’. There are now more people over 60 in the UK than ever before. There are significant numbers of older people now living in leasehold properties. | File size: 174KB | Published Date: 04/08/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: CMA report outcomes and recommendations | LEN briefing - CMA report outcomes and recommendations | File size: 361KB | Published Date: 31/07/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants | The extending of Right to Buy has been one of the biggest election manifesto issues. This new briefing from LEN Associate Helen Muir explains the latest situation concisely and looks at what both housing associations and local authority social landlords will need to think about over the coming months. | File size: 131KB | Published Date: 18/06/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: repairs, improvements and reductions | Repairs and caps have been in the headlines again recently. This month’s technical briefing, by LEN Associate John Gargan, looks at why landlords must carefully consider the reasons for carrying out works of repair – especially when the works are improvements, even if the lease allows for the recovery of the costs of such works. | File size: 186KB | Published Date: 16/04/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: leasehold case law update – key 2014 cases | There were some high profile Tribunal cases in 2014. John Murray from Ward Hadaway solicitors takes a look at the key cases and sets out what LEN members can learn from them. | File size: 177KB | Published Date: 04/02/2015 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: top ten tips for mediation | Following on from an earlier briefing ‘Litigate or mediate?’ back in September 2013, LEN Associate and fully-trained mediator John Gargan sets out his top tips for mediation so as to help to avoid the cost of litigation and tribunals to resolve leaseholder disputes. | File size: 679KB | Published Date: 19/11/2014 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: the Competition and Markets Authority study into service provision for the leasehold sector | With the Competition and Markets Authority’s ongoing service review now including social housing providers, this briefing from LEN Associate Cecilia Brodigan – who was involved in the initial round-table discussions – looks at the implications of the review for local authority, ALMO and housing association leasehold management teams. | File size: 231KB | Published Date: 10/09/2014 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: the Right to Buy Agent service | The Right to Buy initiative is being actively promoted by the government. This includes the development of a new facility – the Right to Buy Agent service. | File size: 197KB | Published Date: 09/07/2014 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: considering Feed-in Tariffs for leaseholders, Right to Buy or shared ownership | A few questions have been asked recently about the treatment of feed-in tariffs (FIT) where leaseholders are resident in a block, or where properties are sold through Right to Buy, or indeed for shared ownership properties. This raises a number of issues which need to be considered, since the treatment of these cases may depend on how the original installation was procured or funded. | File size: 320KB | Published Date: 04/06/2014 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: the fundamentals of drafting an effective policy within the social housing sectoring sector | Policies and strategies can all too easily become a tick box exercise - but how many of us fully understand why they are important and how to write an effective policy? | File size: 217KB | Published Date: 22/04/2014 | Download | |
| Current | Briefing: an introduction to the First Tier Tribunal | Over a number of years, leasehold practitioners have become quite accustomed to dealing with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT), or "LVT", and, as its jurisdiction has evolved over time, even distinguishing between "Old LVT" and "New LVT" applications. Some of you will be aware that other jurisdictions were exercised under similarly constituted tribunals, albeit operating under different titles – the Rent Assessment Committee, and the Residential Property Tribunal. By Schedule 2 of the Rent Act 1965, Rent Assessment Committees were originally created to consider appeals against fair rent registrations. The Housing Act 1980 granted them jurisdiction to determine certain matters relating to the enfranchisement of leasehold houses, previously dealt with in the County Court. The LVT was born. | File size: 194KB | Published Date: 17/03/2014 | Download |