The HOUSING CORPORATION is a very powerful quango that allows some memebers
with not the best reputation to operate in a very dubious way, this was the
case of Crystal Palace Housing Association in 1991 which went about
mis-representing leases to the public in the media and by any means it saw
fit.

The Housing corporation member I am referring to has many names and may have
a new one now but some are: Crystal Palace Housing Association, South London
Family Housing Association, SLFHA Ltd, HORIZON HOUSING GROUP


*THIS WAS AN OPERATION OF ABOUT 70 to 80 PROPERTIES: 4 to 5 Million Pounds
of 1991 money! And values were falling, there was a crisis.


*The leases were misrepresented at the time of sale targetting people
without experience, while the "professionals" who drafted the leases and
sales contract appear to have catered for this process of supplying people
without experience illegal information behind their legal advisors back,
because the lease / sales contract combine to disown anything guranteed
during the process of sale, leaving the public exposed to that dishonesty:

"Calling first time buyers" they said in the Evening Standard 31-07-91
and
"Absolutely no requirement to buy the remainder" they also assured us
and
"Does the rent ever go up?" they asked in their own leaflets
"Yes it goes up in line with inflation" they answered

And ten years later the dishonest sellers (CPHA now Horizon Housing Group)
wrote the following words to us: (from their letter 16-03-99)

"As you are aware..." !! "In October 2000, the 2(b) applies... Obviously
this has some considerable financial implications to all leaseholders who do
not own 100%" !!

(the implications to which they referred: 40 % rent rise indexed year on
year 2 % ABOVE inflation and something more or less the same a few years
latter according to this lease described above as with ABSOLUTELY no
requirement to buy the remainder!)

So here is what they were advising us now:

"and I suggest that you may wish to consider staircasing in the percentage
you currently own." !!

The sales contract disowns any representations the dishonest landlord made
to us, even publicly in the press!. Was this premeditated? Did they read the
lease and the sales contract? What advice did their solicitors give them?
The Housing Corporation says this is not against their regulations!

All this I have documented.

So there you have the 4 million pound question, which curiously is the same
one they have the courage to ask me: "and what did "THEIR" solicitor tell
"THEM"?"

And crucially: "Did "they" read the lease?" In the falling market with their
out-dated prices (as these were falling still further towards the end of
1991).. was this premeditated?

Was all this in deed a deliberate plan as it appears to be? I understand
that the then CPHA now Horizon Housing Group actually was responsible for
chosing this type of lease! for this 4 million pound plus operation!

The Housing Corporation doesn't want to look in to this ! and it also told
me that I should have gone with a guy put by CPHA and who was peddling
pension endowment mortgages, possibly an ex employee of CPHA.. it was all
not very clear if he wanted to give legal or financial advice or both on
CPHA premises during their "Sales Seminar". They also say that my landlord
..didn't breach any Corporation procedural guidelines.. whow.. what a
regulator and what guidelines!

Should public organisations, landlords, lawyers, etc have freedom to operate
as other professions can't (and shouldn't) when they sell something to the
public who have less experience and technical knowledge?

Should public bodies be allowed to compete with the private sector in this
unfair way protected even from Parliament by a Quango?

So much for the integrity of operations with public funds through the
Housing Corporation.
Misrepresenting leases in the process of sale should be a crime just like
any other way of deceiving the public.

Even worse this is coning the public with public money. That is our taxes
being used without integrity through a Quango to deceive the public. This is
why the Regulator is not doing what it is supposed to.

Thank you for your attention and if you would like copies of the
documentation supporting these claims or you think that you may be able to
recommend a solution please write to me at adrianfoot@hotmail.com quoting
CPHA so that I know it is not junk mail.

Kind regards
David A. Foot