‘Event Fees’ is the term devised by the Law Commission to refer to charges in leases that are payable on the sale or sub-letting of retirement properties. These fees have caused considerable anger and resentment, especially on the part of family members who inherit what they believe to be an asset only to find it is subject to significant additional charges when it is sold or even more annoyingly if it is retained and sub-let. Many think these fees are unfair and unreasonable.
In a leasehold context, charges are only unreasonable if they fall within the statutory definition of an administration charge whereas charges in consumer contracts can be unfair if they are not properly disclosed before the contract is entered into. Unreasonable administration charges can easily be challenged at a tribunal but unfair charges must be challenged through the courts.
The Leaseholder Association has facilitated a consultation meeting with the Law Commissioner, Stephen Lewis, and leaseholders in retirement flats to get their views on hidden charges in leases. The Law Commission has been asked by the Government to investigate the fairness of ‘Event Fees’ and make recommendations for changes in the law.
Continue reading Law Commissioner comes to Kent →
In 1977 John McCarthy, a jobbing builder from New Milton, Hampshire, came upon his eureka moment. In his autobiography, ‘Building a Billion’ he recalls how he identified a niche market and the opportunity to “make more money than he had ever dreamed of”. His idea was to build blocks of retirement flats for the elderly. He calculated that in building smaller flats with far fewer parking spaces he could develop more properties per plot of land and see his way to a fortune, which he did. In 2006 McCarthy & Stone was sold for £1.1 billion.
Continue reading The money-making revelations of John McCarthy, the founder of McCarthy & Stone →
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