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LATEST: Government launches major shake-up of leasehold enfranchisement

Leasehold minister Lord Greenhalgh says proposals, which are being consulted on for six weeks, are 'most significant legal shake-up in a generation'.

Nigel Lewis

leasehold Lord Greenhalgh

The government has announced a consultation on its latest and wide-ranging proposals to shake up leasehold and commonhold ownership within England and Wales.

Both homeowners and the property industry are being invited to comment on the plans, which include key proposals to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to buy the freehold of their homes in mixed-use buildings, which are currently excluded from enfranchisement if non-residential takes up more than 25% of a building’s floor space.

Under the proposals, this will be increased to 50%.

Other proposals in the consultation aim to make it cheaper for leaseholders to collectively buy their freehold by making ‘mandatory leaseback’ a two-way process.

This is designed to reduce the cost of a collective buyout of their building and make commonhold more popular and widespread.

Additional proposals include changes to ‘right to manage’ to make it easier achieve and increased rights for Shared Ownership homeowners within commonhold buildings.

Law reform

Both English and Welsh ministers says the proposals, which were first promised a year ago, form part of the ‘biggest reform to property law in a generation’.

The consultation, which includes proposals to enable leaseholders in mixed-use buildings to take control and ownership of their homes, follows the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ promise to put an end to ground rents for most new residential leases and lease extensions.

Leasehold Minister, Lord Greenhalgh (main pic) says: “The current leasehold system is outdated, unbalanced and broken and we are determined to fix it.

“Our proposals aim to rebalance power and should see more leaseholders than ever before owning the full rights to their homes.”

Julie James Welsh National AssemblyJulie James (pictured), the Welsh housing minister, adds:  “I welcome this consultation as an important step towards implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations on leasehold reform, which were jointly commissioned by the Welsh and UK governments.”

Read the consultation in full.

 

 

January 12, 2022

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