Leasehold reforms are long overdue

January 7, 2021
National Federation of Builders 2021

Housing secretary, Robert Jenrick has announced leasehold reforms to end some of the bad practices seen in recent years, as well as make it easier for homeowners to buy their freeholds.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “These long overdue changes must be the first of many to protect homeowners from the abhorrent behaviour of some unscrupulous companies. The NFB has been speaking to government about the leasehold scandal for many years and it’s good to finally see this Government take the issue seriously.”

Legislation will be brought forward to set future ground rents at zero for all leaseholders, allow leases to be extended by 990 years and create parity between house and flat leaseholders, as currently those who own a leasehold house can only extend their lease once, for a period of 50 years.

Further changes by way of a cap on ground rent payable and the introduction of an online calculator will help leaseholders plan to buy their freehold. Prohibitive costs, such as ‘marriage value’ – the difference in value between your property having a short lease (before renewing) and when the lease is extended or freehold bought – will be simplified and made more transparent.

Leaseholders will also be able to voluntarily agree to a restriction on future development of their property to avoid paying ‘development value’.

The Government will establish a Commonhold Council to prepare the nation for the introduction of commonhold.

Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy at the House Builders Association (HBA), said: “It was about time the issues around leasehold were tackled, not only because it was wholly unfair to those purchasers who were trapped by unjust practices but because the whole housebuilding industry had its reputation tarnished because of a few companies taking advantage of their customers.

Along with the leasehold reforms, we also welcome the idea of a Commonhold Council, as industry, local authorities and homeowners will need to understand how the change will work in practice.”

Shared by: Tony Billington of Builders.org.uk

EAN Breaking News

Breaking News from the team at Estate Agent Networking. Have a new story to share with us? Then please get in contact today! When and where we can we will refer to third party websites with a 'live link back' where news was released first.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

Signs of Outdated Wiring in Older Tulsa-Area Homes

Tulsa has a lot of beautiful older homes. Brookside bungalows, Maple Ridge tudors, the postwar neighborhoods that fill out Midtown and East Tulsa. They were built well, but most were built before central air, before microwaves, before two-car households with two laptops and a dozen phone chargers. The electrical systems inside them were designed for…
Read More →
LIVING BY THE SEASIDE 2022
Breaking News

Britain’s seaside price hotspots revealed

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals Britain’s seaside hotspots where prices are rising the fastest Bootle in Merseyside leads the way, with average asking prices up 11% year-on-year, followed by Crosby in Liverpool (+9%) and Penarth in South Glamorgan (+9%) Other coastal locations including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan (+8%) and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire (+7%) are also seeing strong price growth Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Great Britain compared to last year, with some seaside hotspots outpacing the…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Hertfordshire emerges as strongest performing London commuter county

New research from UK Property Development reveals that while London property prices fell by more than -3% in the past year, prices in some of the capital’s surrounding counties have enjoyed positive growth, none more so than the premium commuter county of Hertfordshire.   In the past year, London’s average house price has fallen by…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Second homes losing appeal among the rich

New Survey Reveals Ongoing Maintenance Is the Biggest Barrier to Second Home Ownership   62% say upkeep and hassle would stop them from buying a second home, even if money were no object   A new survey conducted by luxury co-ownership platform Equity Residences has revealed that the practical realities of owning a second home…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

How to build a property portfolio with buy-to-let mortgages

One of the reasons property is such a popular asset choice for investors is that you don’t need to invest all the money yourself; you can leverage funds from the bank. Here’s a very simplistic example of how borrowing via a buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage allows you to multiply your returns versus owning a property all-cash:…
Read More →
Home and Living

2026’s Fastest-Growing Bathroom Trend Is the Wet Room

“Wet rooms have become one of the standout bathroom upgrades of 2026, moving from luxury extra to everyday renovation choice as more homeowners prioritise space, style and easy cleaning. The momentum is only building as spa‑style bathrooms stay in demand.” “Wet rooms used to be a niche request,” says Ant Langston, Marketing Manager at Heat…
Read More →