THE heat was turned up on a housing developer as it met with a group of residents and an MP over its leaseholding practices on Friday.

Persimmon Homes bosses agreed to meet with North West Hampshire MP and housing minister Kit Malthouse, and Picket Twenty leaseholders about concerns raised with the homes sold to them.

Leasehold properties are owned for a fixed time period and the landlord, also known as the freeholder, often charges a ‘ground rent’ fee as a condition of the lease.

Occupants must also make payments to a contractor for the property’s upkeep, and Picket Twenty leaseholders say the fees are constantly hiked.

As previously reported in the Advertiser, residents have said the combination has made it difficult to sell the properties on, and they did not feel Persimmon Homes informed them of some of the issues at the point of sale.

Mr Malthouse said: “It was a constructive but at times heated meeting, and the senior executives from Persimmon went away with a clear view of how dissatisfied their customers are.

“They took away a number of action points to consider on changes to leaseholds and improved customer service.

“I expect to receive their action plan before the end of November, and given that Persimmon have at least another 500 homes to build and sell in around Andover, it is vital that they get this right for the future.

“I will continue to work with them and my constituents to make sure it happens.”

Resident Kevin Brown said he was pleased to get a meeting over the issues however said Persimmon officials were “vague” with what they had to say.

Persimmon Homes did not comment to the Advertiser whether it will look to change its leaseholder policy.

However a spokesperson from Persimmon Homes South Coast said: “The meeting gave residents the opportunity to air their concerns and several questions were raised.

“We agreed that we would look into these concerns and respond to the queries raised during November and will also be liaising with Kit Malthouse MP.”