FAO: Hastoe leasehold and shared owner residents
We wrote to leaseholders and shared owners in November 2023 regarding our approach to the new buildings insurance deal for Hastoe properties, which includes any leasehold or Shared Owner properties where we are responsible for arranging this.
To secure the best possible deal for residents, we looked to enter into a new deal directly with the current insurer, Protector, rather than go out to the market and carry out a full consultation. This was due to the dramatic rise in the cost of buildings insurance across the housing sector. The deal was described by our expert independent insurance consultants Gibbs Laidler as ‘extremely favourable’, as it allowed us (and therefore residents) to avoid the substantial increases in insurance costs seen elsewhere in the housing sector.
However, because we could not go to the market and consult in full with leaseholders as we usually would, we had to apply to the First Tier Tribunal for ‘dispensation’ from the consultation requirements. We invited responses from leaseholders and shared owners, and applied to the First Tier Tribunal, with the dispensation hearing taking place on 27 February 2024.
The First Tier Tribunal has now released their decision confirming that the requirement to consult for the new insurance deal can be dispensed with. The Tribunal found that Hastoe 'had acted in the best interests of all concerned in securing the favourable deal with Protector'. As such, the new insurance deal will continue for the next three years, and residents will therefore see the benefit of this in the insurance element of their service charge.
The 2024/25 service charge budgets recently sent out show this new insurance element, and most cases have slightly decreased from the previous year. If you have any further queries regarding this, please contact us at procurement@hastoe.com, or via your MyHastoe account. If you need any further information on the policy itself, or to make a claim, please refer to the insurance part of our website found here.
