Leasehold ground rents are good source of funds for improvements
Responsibly managed leaseholds can provide communities with emergency funds that would otherwise not be available if leaseholds were banned, according to Jane Blackburn, the chair of Cannock Mill Cohousing Colchester. In a letter to the Guardian, Blackburn explained how Cannock Mill Cohousing had opted for 999-year leases with inflation-linked ground rents of £30 to £100 ($38-$128). She added any unspent funds were ploughed back into improvements at the retirement living development.

I write in support of Stephen Hill’s letter (It’s not leaseholds that are the problem, 4 August). Leasehold tenure is the choice of many utopian communities, from the garden cities of the early 20th century to the cohousing schemes now emerging in Britain.

At Cannock Mill Cohousing Colchester, we have taken matters into our own hands to get the retirement lifestyle we want – because there isn’t enough choice in today’s property market for people retiring. We are developing a spacious site so that we can downsize to something appealing for our later years, which we intend to manage ourselves.

We have decided that 999-year leases (for both flats and houses) with ground rents of £30-£100 (linked to inflation) is the best approach. We have a lease clause providing that money unspent from the ground rents will, long-term, be recycled into site improvements.

If leasehold houses were banned, we would not have any ground rent income – even though such income would provide an equitably accrued emergency fund to meet unexpected legal or similar costs. Responsible property management is being effectively disallowed – the unintended consequence of well-meant but under-informed legislation.

Jane Blackburn

Chair, Cannock Mill Cohousing Colchester

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