IMPORTANT
INFORMATION and UPDATE
29th July 2014
Elba Ground Rent Action Group
Dear Fellow Elba Leaseholder,
We are writing to you with a brief update on the campaign against the ground rent increases proposed by the City & County of Swansea.
As you will recall the scale of the proposed increases only became apparent in early June when we all received letters from the Council. That was a little over a month and a half ago, and in that time the Action Group has already been very active.
To date we have done the following:
Ÿ We helped to deliver a petition to the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff calling for a review of the leasehold system in Wales.
Ÿ We raised awareness across the country through radio pieces with The Wave/Swansea Sound and BBC Radio and written articles in the South Wales Evening Post.
Ÿ We brought the plight of the Elba residents to the attention of Welsh Assembly Members gaining their support on the issue.
Ÿ We met with a delegation from the Council to discuss how to progress the dispute in a timely fashion and one which would maximize the chances for a negotiated solution.
Ÿ We met with a chartered surveyor with extensive experience in dealing with similar ground rent issues to obtain initial advice regarding this dispute.
We explained in our previous update that the Council continues to express their commitment to exploring the possibility of a negotiated compromise. However, they are unable to commence negotiations until their position has been agreed at Cabinet level in August.
The Action Group believes that we need to take advantage of this time to obtain formal advice from a chartered surveyor and barrister.
The advice received from these experts will give us vital information on the strengths and weaknesses of both our case and that of the Council. This will enable us to conduct negotiations on a fully informed basis.
It should be remembered that the Council has its own legal department and we therefore need to ensure that we are at least on an equal footing.
The chartered surveyor that we have contacted is Mr Edward Rutledge of Lawrence & Wightman in Birmingham. Mr Rutledge has previously successfully dealt with similar cases, including one for a group of over 700 leaseholders in Redditch.
The barrister recommended by Mr Rutledge is Mr Douglas Readings an experienced leasehold enfranchisement counsel with whom he worked on the Redditch case. Mr Readings is also based in Birmingham.
Instructing the above gentlemen can only improve our position when negotiating with the Council, as we will then have the benefit of sound advice and information.
The Action Group believes that, if we are to achieve the best ’deal’ for residents, it is imperative that we take expert advice.
Mr Rutledge has already visited the estate to view some representative plots and discuss the case with members of the Action Group. To date he has done so for free but he and the barrister, Mr Readings, will need to charge fees if we formally instruct them.
Accordingly, the Action Group are asking all affected leaseholders on the estate to contribute £20 per household to create a ‘fighting fund’ to cover the initial advice from Mr Rutledge and Mr Readings.
The information that we have is that 235 properties are subject to the rent review whilst a further 54 properties have a fixed £250 ground rent.
Whilst the benefit of joint action will be self-evident to those leaseholders subject to the rent review, there is also merit in fixed leaseholders being involved in the dispute, since they too could benefit from any revised terms agreed with the Council.
The strength in numbers argument is particularly strong when it comes to legal costs, as individual contributions can be kept to modest levels whilst still allowing all residents to benefit from the best advice possible.
All contributions will be held in a bank account specifically opened for this purpose and safeguarded by the need for two designated signatories to sign any cheques drawn on the account.
Legal action can be costly and if an amicable compromise cannot be achieved through negotiations, further contributions would be required. However, the Action Group is confident that, spread amongst all affected leaseholders, individual contributions can be kept to a reasonable and affordable level.
We anticipate that affected leaseholders will want to discuss this proposal and the campaign generally in more detail with members of the Action Group.
For this reason we have arranged Drop In Surgeries where you can meet the members of the Action Group in person anytime between 6.30 - 8.30 pm on Tuesday the 5th August and again on Wednesday 13th August in the upstairs function room at the Con’ Club in Gowerton (57 Sterry Rd, Gowerton, Swansea SA4 3BN).
If you are able to attend either surgery please bring with you your contribution, cheque or cash, for £20, cheques made payable to “Elba Action Group”.
If you are unable to attend please could you give your contribution to someone who is attending.
Receipts will be provided for all payments received. Please remember to include your Name and Address with your payment.
As part of his investigations, Mr Rutledge has asked that we collect details of the original purchase prices paid for the plots on the estate. This can be found within the original lease for each property. To that end we would be grateful if leaseholders could provide us with a photocopy of the first two pages of their individual leases which we can then forward to Mr Rutledge. Please bring this with you if you are attending one of the above surgeries or again pass it to someone else who is attending if not.
Once we have taken expert advice we will need to arrange a further closed meeting for affected leaseholders so that we can discuss and agree a negotiating position. Further meetings may be required to discuss and agree a response to subsequent proposals made by the Council during the course of the forthcoming negotiations.
The most important message to convey is that we are all in this together and need to present a united front to maximise our chances of the best outcome. We would therefore urge all affected leaseholders to contribute to the initial ‘fighting fund’.
We will not be able to negotiate on behalf of those who do not contribute and the campaign will then be weakened for everyone.
Yours faithfully,
Elba Action Group
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