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I am sharing my experience on the Abolish Leasehold website, I aim to highlight the real and often hidden abuse that leaseholders can endure at the hands of unscrupulous freeholders.
The year is 2020. A little-known company called The Old House Group – a one-man show run by Nasser Alanizy – buys the freehold of a 7-storey modular building in NW London named Mar House. The purpose of this acquisition is to build two new floors (allowed without planning permission due to the recently enacted and controversial “Permitted Development Rights”), sell those units at the lucrative London market, and likely disappear afterward.
Soon after September of 2020, I met Mr. Alanizy. He didn’t strike me as very knowledgeable, and it later seemed that he hadn’t even read his own contract—one that obligates him to pay thousands of pounds in service charges, especially if the retail unit of the building remains unrented.
Mr. Alanizy quickly began identifying issues stemming from the low-quality construction of this 2015 modular building—from the roof, which I was told needs replacing, to the frequent floods in the basement car park. As we surveyed some areas of the building together, I grew concerned that we, the leaseholders, would end up footing the bill for these costly issues. We knew we had an NHBC building warranty, but dealing with it would be complex, time-consuming, and expensive. This was also a post-Grenfell period, and the service charge bill had increased significantly due to the implementation of a Waking Watch—a costly safety measure—without consulting us.
Over the years, I scrutinized budgets, challenged expenses, and wrote objection letters to Section 20 notices (required for major works and associated costs) under the Landlord and Tenant Act (1986).
As time passed, interactions between the abrasive Mr. Alanizy and the residents and leaseholders of Mar House grew increasingly tense, with insults flying—mostly from Mr. Alanizy. The building was deteriorating, service charges and maintenance costs were soaring, and it seemed that everything was being charged back to the leaseholders.
In 2022, Sanctuary Affordable Housing, another leaseholder in the building, took the freeholder to a Tribunal, primarily due to the financial mismanagement and nonsensical invoices. As one of the most active leaseholders, I submitted a testimony and was set to be a witness at the Tribunal.
Then something akin to witness intimidation occurred.
On December 1, 2022, I experienced a loss of gas supply to my apartment. I contacted the managing agent, who reached out to Mr. Yunis Thaidan, the building manager employed by The Old House Group (OHG). An engineer attended and resolved the gas cut issue the same day.
However, on December 2, 2022, shortly after a tense Zoom meeting with Mr. Alanizy, during which he berated me and used unpleasant language, my electricity was suddenly cut off—affecting only my flat. My partner and I went downstairs to the first floor, where OHG’s office and the building’s electric meter room are located. I asked for the key to check if the breaker had tripped. At first, no one answered the door, though I saw Mr. Alanizy inside through the glass.
Eventually, Mr. Thaidan opened the door and let me in. As I entered, Mr. Alanizy began yelling at me, hurling expletives (including repeatedly calling me a "c*nt") and approaching as if to assault me. Mr. Thaidan held him back, and other employees of OHG intervened to prevent him from attacking me. As I turned to leave, Mr. Alanizy kicked me in the buttocks.
I opened the door to let my partner in, who had gone to find the Waking Watch and was initially with me. We re-entered the office, and the altercation continued as we made our way out. Throughout, Mr. Alanizy maintained his abusive behavior and language. Several men, including my partner and OHG employees, had to restrain him to stop him from physically attacking me.
When we finally opened the electric meter room, I saw that the main switch to my flat’s power supply was in the "OFF" position. This reinforced my belief that both the gas and electricity cuts were deliberate acts of harassment.
The next morning, on December 3, 2022, my gas supply was cut off again. During the previous day’s Zoom meeting, Mr. Alanizy had told me to “shut my mouth” and used threatening language. There is a video recording of this incident.
I reported the December 2 incident to the police, calling 999 and receiving reference number 4570 of 02/12/2022. Unfortunately, no officers arrived that day.
These events have left me feeling intimidated and fearful, particularly as they occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing Tribunal case. The combination of verbal and physical abuse, targeted utility cuts, and threats has been traumatic. I believe these actions were designed to silence and intimidate me as a witness.
By sharing my experience on the Abolish Leasehold website, I aim to highlight the real and often hidden abuse that leaseholders can endure at the hands of unscrupulous freeholders. This is not just a personal story—it is a call for systemic change to prevent others from facing similar injustices.