Fri, 12 Dec 2025

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 'It's ruined my life': Flat-owner says building work by freeholder has left her homeless

A botched roof extension caused the ceiling to collapse at Kate Morris’s top-floor flat.

* A mother and her teenage son have been homeless for over a year after their home was damaged by pigeons during construction.
* The leaseholders, Kate and Tom, claim that the freeholder, Magnitude Developments Ltd, was responsible for the damage but has avoided being held accountable.
* The company is in liquidation, and its former director, Ameen Raza, has not been personally liable for the damages owed to the leaseholders.
* The leaseholders have had to pay £7,000 in legal fees to Mr Raza as a result of their failed application to make him personally liable.
* The company that bought the freehold from Magnitude Developments Ltd, Imperial Prime Properties Ltd, has not commented on the situation.
* The National Leasehold Campaign is calling for changes to the law to prevent freeholders from avoiding accountability.
* The leaseholders feel "powerless" and frustrated by the system, which they believe favors rich, deep-pocketed freeholders over ordinary leaseholders.
* The government's proposed reforms, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (Lafra), have not yet come into force and are unlikely to protect leaseholders like Kate and Tom until 2025 at the earliest.
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