Leasehold reforms set out
The "feudal" leasehold system in England and Wales will be overhauled by the end of the current Parliament, the government has announced,
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said that commonhold - where people own their homes without an expiring lease - will become the default tenure before the next election.
Mr Pennycook said elements of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, passed by the Conservative government earlier this year, would be implemented.
- From January, a "two-year rule" preventing leaseholders from extending their lease or buy their freehold for the first 24 months will be scrapped
- From spring next year, the government wants more leaseholders in mixed-use buildings to be able to take over management from their freeholders, and no longer have to pay their freeholder’s costs if they make a claim against them
- By the second half of next year, the government will outline how it will ban new leaseholds, after a consultation
Ministers will also consult on how leaseholders can more easily challenge unreasonable service charges, and require landlords to get court approval before passing their legal costs on to leaseholders.
As for current leasehold properties, Mr Pennycook said: "We will also engage on the conversion of existing flats to commonhold."
Mr Pennycook said: "Given that millions of leaseholders and residential freeholders are currently suffering as a result of unfair and unreasonable practices, we appreciate fully the need to act urgently to provide them with relief."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk