Your article on the National Leasehold Campaign highlighted the financial injustices of leasehold ownership, but there is another growing problem that deserves attention: rooftop development on occupied blocks, which was highlighted also by a letter published in response to the article.

I am a leaseholder in north London and planning permission has been granted for additional storeys to be built on top of our building. Like many leaseholders, I bought my flat believing that I had security in my home, only to discover that the roof above it could later be treated as a development opportunity over which I had virtually no control.

What has become clear is how little protection leaseholders have once a freeholder decides to monetise the roof space. In my case, planning permission has been granted in principle, yet the council has confirmed that there is still no building regulations application, no building control approval, and no construction management plan setting out how residents would be protected during the works.

That, to me, exposes a major gap in the system. Leaseholders are expected to live with the consequences – noise, dust, loss of amenities, uncertainty over property value and saleability, and concerns about safety during major works – while responsibility is fragmented between planning, building control, private approvers, the fire brigade and the Health and Safety Executive. Each body deals with only part of the picture, but no one seems responsible for the overall impact on residents who must continue living in the building throughout the works.

The freeholder gains the value; the leaseholders below carry the risk. If the government is serious about leasehold reform, it must also address the lack of protection for residents facing rooftop development on occupied buildings.
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