Government proposes changes to unfair leasehold and ground rent agreements

Announcement 25th July 2017 from Department for Communities and Local Government and Sajid Javid MP headlines ‘Crackdown on Unfair Leashold Practices’.

Radical new proposals to cut out unfair abuses of leasehold have been announced by the government in a major move that will deliver a fairer, more transparent system for homebuyers.

Leaseholds on new-build houses could be scrapped and ground rents could be dramatically reduced, under government plans subject to public consultation.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has set out plans to ban new build houses being sold as leasehold as well as restricting ground rents to as low as zero. This can often expose homebuyers to unreasonable and long-term financial abuse.

Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid said:

“It’s clear that far too many new houses are being built and sold as leaseholds, exploiting home buyers with unfair agreements and spiraling ground rents. Enough is enough. These practices are unjust, unnecessary and need to stop.

“Our proposed changes will help make sure leasehold works in the best interests of homebuyers now and in the future”.

Read the announcemnt in full including all measures subject to 8 week consultation click here.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 13/2/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   96% of proptechs fail to get to series A funding – here is why Thought Leadership by Andrew Stanton, CEO Proptech-PR The proptech sector has never been short of ideas. From AI-driven valuations and digital conveyancing to smart buildings and tokenised real estate, innovation in property…
Read More
Breaking News

Landlords unprepared for the Renters’ Rights Act

Three quarters have made no preparations for the end of Section 21, despite major reforms taking effect from May 2026 New research from Inventory Base has revealed widespread lack of preparedness among UK landlords ahead of the first phase of reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA), due to come into force on 1 May…
Read More
Breaking News

Why capital is staying in London despite a cooling housing market

By Joe Freedman, Head of Origination at ASK Partners London isn’t suffering from a lack of housing demand. It’s suffering from a failure to deliver. New data from Molior underlines the scale of that failure. Just 5,547 private homes broke ground across the capital last year, an 84% drop from a decade ago. Against an…
Read More
Breaking News

The hidden risk of overvaluing your home when moving in today’s market

With many homeowners turning ambitious conversations into tangible moving plans, the start of the year traditionally marks a surge in activity, particularly for families planning for the future. While the property market remains fundamentally healthy, experts at Beresfords say overvaluing property is one issue that continues to undermine the progress of those looking to sell.…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, has launched a beta version of AI-powered conversational property search, as it continues to enhance its property search experience. In close collaboration with Google Cloud and built with Google’s Gemini models, conversational search is available via the property search bar on Rightmove’s website homepage. The latest move further expands…
Read More
Breaking News

Should you break things off with your mortgage lender this Valentine’s Day?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the latest research from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has revealed that more than half of homeowners approaching the end of a fixed-rate mortgage are currently undecided on their relationship with their lender, despite notable improvements across the mortgage market over the last 12 months. The consumer insight, commissioned by Alexander…
Read More