Leasehold home ownership: A new perspective

Leasehold home ownership has been a source of tension between landlords and tenants for many years.

Our guest Ezania Bennett will shed some light on the reasons why those contracts generate so much disgruntlement. Having years of experience in litigation and enforcement in the housing sector, she will share her views on the issues linked to leasehold home ownership and assess the Law commission’s proposals to upgrade the system.

So Ezania will start by explaining to us the right to buy scheme (4:30) before precisely defining what services charges payable to public landlords include (6:05) before explaining why in her opinion, they generate so many disputes (8:55). She’ll explain how the notion of reasonableness has developed (9:30) through statutes and via two case laws [Forcelux Ltd v Sweetman [2001]2 E.G.L.R. 173 LT and Waaler v Hounslow LBC EWCA Civ 45 [2017] 1 W.L.R. 2817] (12:40) and explain some of the difficulties associated with it (14:50). She’ll share her view on the system as a whole (16:00) and will clarify why it needs updating (17:40). She will cover what the Law commission proposals offer to improve (21:20) and assess the value of these proposals (26:10). We will then talk about her current role (28:35), and she will recount how she fortuitously entered the legal profession (30:10) then we’ll uncover some of her most significant successes (33:30) and hurdles (34.40) that followed and her ambitions for the future (35:55). She will finally grant us thoughtful insights for aspiring lawyers (37:15).

I hope this episode will give the law enthusiasts out there, the opportunity to feed their curiosity, enrich their knowledge and get inspired!