AN ASSOCIATION of guest house tenants is keen to get back around the table with councillors, saying there is “no value” in 60-year leases.

Their response comes after the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council (WPBC) policy development committee agreed to pass the scheme on to the management committee last month as reported in the Echo.

If implemented, it would mean that the WPBC offer 60-year leases on the basis that tenants are responsible for repairing and insuring their properties.

Members of the Weymouth Guest House and Leaseholders Association (WGHLA) have struck out against this policy, saying that it is neither valuable to the tenants nor, by extension, the future of tourism in the town.

Alison Weller said: “We don’t want to cause animosity between us and the council.

“Negotiations with the council about leases and rents have been going on for about a year.

“We acknowledge that it is short of cash, we’re simply challenging the 60-year lease policy.

“The council hasn’t got the money to repair the properties.

“We’ve got some along the sea front that have been waiting for a long time to be decorated even though the council will be passing the cost onto the tenant they are unable to organise the decorating and repairs.”

She added that whilst the policy saddles the tenant with repairs, it also hampers their ability to shop around for the best deals on the touch-ups as they would have to use tradesmen approved by the council.

Jim Groves, also a member of the association, said: “One of the main problems is that we all seem to have different length leases.

“The 60-year lease has no market value as long as there’s such a large yearly upward only rent attached to it.

“Most rents are £13,000 or more per year.

“There would be frequent reviews of the rent and the possibility for very sharp increases in it.

“This new policy is far from new.

“They’ve had it on the cards for years and there’s no real advantage or benefit.

“Insisting the burden of repairs falls on the tenant is not a reasonable thing to do.”

One solution, WGHLA propose, would be to offer even longer leases at a peppercorn rent which would allow the tenants to keep more of their income for decoration.

Mrs Weller said: “We are talking about a large chunk of a £110 million tourism industry.

“We in the WGHLA care about Weymouth as a thriving place, opening internationally.

“We need to have properties that are fit for purpose.”