Following on from the news that LEASE (the Leasehold Advisory Service – a quango) had not been granted funding to continue to advise the public on commonhold issues (see our note, here), comes the news that it is to stop offering mediation services in service charge disputes (again, one presumes, for lack of funding). The announcement is here.
Not entirely surprising. Sad though it is to say this, I suspect that the writing is on the wall for LEASE in general. The approach of the Tory-led government to quangos is, in general terms, to abolish them where they perform a service that the private sector could perform. Advise about service charge disputes, collective enfranchisement, etc, does rather sound like something that the private sector already offers via your friendly neighbourhood soliticitor…