Commonhold White Paper – Thoughts from the Industry

March 3, 2025

The sale of new leasehold flats in England and Wales is to be banned under Labour’s plan to end the  ‘feudal’ system. Labour wants to switch to Scotland’s commonhold system

There are around 5 million leaseholders in England and Wales. Under commonhold, each flat owner would own the freehold of their home, but also have shared responsibility for common areas and upkeep. Here are some thoughts from the Industry.

 

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark:

“Further reforms to the leasehold system will be welcome news for leaseholders up and down the country. Propertymark has long campaigned for changes to make it cheaper and easier to buy, sell and rent leasehold property. We know that there are complications and additional costs with extending leases and property with an escalating ground rent struggles to sell, so commonhold offers an opportunity to tackle these issues. With 42 per cent of Propertymark member agents favouring abolishing the leasehold system altogether, it’s clear to see there is frustration with the current system. However, understanding and awareness of the implications of commonhold is low. What’s key through the White Paper proposals is that any future changes make the system simpler, reduce costs and enable consumer confidence.”

 

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB):
“Leasehold can work, but its outdated, open to abuse, and offers none of the protections and benefits that Commonhold would, effectively creating second class homeowners. We are absolutely behind the Government on their direction of travel.
Planning minister, Matthew Pennycook made the announcement yesterday morning (3 March 2024), citing the need to “drive up living standards and create a housing system fit for the twenty first century”. He also championed efforts to “make it easier for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB and the House Builders Association (HBA):
“HBA members fully support the move away from leasehold and have proactively identified where commonhold might need attention, for example on infrastructure adoption and maintenance cost, particularly on roads, drainage, and the environment.
Commonhold could also help the Government meet their housing targets. When people feel they have a real stake in their building, consumer confidence in dense, tall buildings, essential for delivering supply in our cities, will increase and projects will have enough buyer interest in them and therefore be viable enough to build.”

 

Helen Hutchison, partner at Irwin Mitchell:

“Whilst we strongly agree there is a need to makes changes to the current leasehold regime, a rush to abolish leasehold ownership, without a clear plan will be risky and could potentially bring the market for leasehold flats to a halt. The sheer enormity of such a transition needs to be considered with input from those in the sector to put in place a staged process with a view to minimising risk. We await further proposals with interest and will of course be monitoring the situation closely.”

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

‘The property ladder pulls further away’ warns Open Property Group

For many first-time buyers across England, the dream of homeownership continues to slip further out of reach. Despite rising wages, soaring house prices are making it harder than ever to get on the property ladder. A leading UK professional house buying company ‘Open Property Group’ based in Buckinghamshire UK, has raised concerns over the ongoing…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

How Long It Takes to Buy a House in the UK: 5 Common Delays That Can Slow Down Your Home Purchase

Wondering how long it takes to buy a house in the UK? The average timeline ranges from 8 to 22 weeks, but even that can stretch significantly due to unexpected delays, especially if you’re a first-time buyer or caught in a chain. That’s why working with experienced professionals like Belvoir — one of the UK’s…
Read More →
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove to host Renters’ Rights Bill webinar with Guild of Lettings

Rightmove is hosting a live and interactive webinar session with the Guild of Lettings to help agents get Renters’ Rights Ready. The webinar will take place from 10:00am – 11:00am on Wednesday 23rd April. Susie Crolla, Managing Director for the Guild of Lettings, will be joining Rightmove to help agents with questions they may have about…
Read More →
Breaking News

Mortgage completions surged 50 per cent in March amid race to avoid higher stamp duty

March saw highest volume of mortgage completions recorded since September 2021 Homebuyers report now needing an additional £13,530 on top of the property price to cover taxes and fees Three in four have seen housing costs rise, up £126 on average per month Renters’ confidence in their ability to purchase a property within five years…
Read More →
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Average two-year fixed mortgage rate for 60% LTV now cheaper than five-year rate

The average two-year fixed mortgage rate for those with a 40% deposit (60% LTV) is now cheaper than the average five-year fixed equivalent, the first time this has happened since the mini-Budget The average two-year fixed, 60% LTV mortgage rate is now 4.18%, while the five-year equivalent is 4.19% The gap between average two-year fixed…
Read More →
Overseas Property

How UK Property Investors Can Manage Exchange Rate Risk When Buying Off-Plan Overseas

Off-plan purchases are especially common in developing overseas property markets with a high proportion of international investors. In these less mature markets, a significant share of stock is sold directly by developers, making off-plan transactions a natural sales model. These opportunities appeal to international buyers because they typically require less upfront cash due to extended…
Read More →