MP and councillor hail leasehold concessions

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland and Chiseldon and Lawn borough councillor William Horley are celebrating the success of an important local campaign.

The two have been calling on developers to amend leasehold sales deals which some customers said had landed them with unexpected bills. 

Mr Buckland said: "Along with Cllr William Horley, I was pleased last week when following our local campaign, the CMA (Competitions and Marketing Authority) announced that they had secured formal commitments from leading companies including Aviva and Persimmon, as part of the ongoing work to tackle issues in the leasehold sector.

"Following this announcement, we spoke with Julian Roper, Managing Director of Persimmon Wessex, to find out what this means for local leasehold residents and what next steps they should be taking."

Persimmon has agreed to:

- An extension of its existing Right to Buy scheme to cap the purchase price of a freehold at £2,000. This extended scheme will apply to any house leases sold on or after 1 January 2000 and runs until 31 December 2026

- Customers who have already acquired their freeholds from Persimmon under the existing Right to Buy scheme, and who still own the freehold, can apply to be reimbursed for the difference between the price paid and £2,000

- An extension of its Reservation Period for home buyers from 35 days to 42 days. At the pre-reservation stage - for those yet to buy - customers will be shown details of the appearance and location of their chosen home together with all relevant surrounding information. The reservation agreement will set out the key terms of the home purchase, including the reservation period, purchase price and other important information.

Mr Buckland said: "We have been informed that The Persimmon Group is operating a central dedicated contact point for leasehold residents following the agreement with the CMA and that local regional businesses are not operationally involved in the process."

The central dedicated department dealing with freehold/leaseholds can be accessed via www.persimmonhomes.com/leasehold and on 0800 915 6722.