Leaseholders are promised reform - finally!

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After years in the wilderness, leaseholders have been promised long overdue reforms to the way the system works.  Earlier this week, the government released its latest consultation, Implementing reforms to the leasehold system in England, which sets out to tackle a range of problems being faced by leasehold homeowners.
In 2017, the government finally recognised the need to improve fairness and transparency in the leasehold market and pledged to close some of the loopholes that harm the consumer. This was followed by a consultation last December on the sale of leasehold houses and onerous ground rents. At Ringley, we believe close scrutiny of the leasehold system is long overdue.
This latest consultation paper sets out the Government?s four key areas of reform and is asking for feedback on these points:

• A ban on unjustified use of leasehold for new houses



• Reducing future ground rents to a nominal (affordable) sum



• Ensuring that the charges paid by freeholders towards maintenance of communal areas are fairer and more transparent, as at the moment they do not have the same rights as leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of the service charges levied and the standards of the services provided.



• Improving the system for selling leasehold properties



 

In the consultation paper, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government says, ?Now I intend to deliver our promises?. Let?s hope he will prove to be as good as his word.
To read the consultation in detail, go to https://bit.ly/2yAE9q4  If you have strong views on how the leasehold system could be improved and would like to respond, the submission deadline is 26 November.

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02/09/2020
Author : Mary-Anne Bowring

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