Freeholders are branded a “property mafia”, by leasehold campaigner

Freeholders have been branded a “property mafia” by a leasehold campaigner, who says reforms laid before Parliament do not go far enough.

Harry Scoffin, (pictured), founder of campaign group Free Leaseholders, is calling for a universal right to manage so leaseholders control their own service charges.

He also wants leaseholders to have the right to buy their freehold in a process known as enfranchisement.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “The Prime Minister needs to make sure he talks very powerfully about taking back control, devolving power to the people.

“He’s got to do that with a universal right to manage, so that leaseholders don’t spend years in tribunal fighting this sort of property mafia, but that they have control of the service charges.”

Scoffin says freeholders have “preyed on people’s desperation for owning their own home”.

He says: “We have no sympathy for these very sophisticated investors that have hitched a ride on ordinary people’s homes. And these guys have had years to divest. It’s been manifesto after manifesto. Get out.”

On the Today programme it was put to him that leases were contracts freely entered into, and that scrapping the system interferes with free market – but Scoffin rejected the argument.

He said: “Parliament’s always interfering in private property rights. Taxation is a form of that.”

Five sets of regulations were laid in Parliament yesterday, bringing in protections from the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Scoffin says they are “largely about transparency and controlling legal costs” but concedes they are a start.

He says the real test is the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, due before Christmas, and warns against repeating an earlier draft.

He says: “It cannot be the same slop that we got from [former Prime Minister Keir] Starmer and his lawyer chums early this year.”

We don’t want to fight this Government like we fought all the others.”

Scoffin says campaigners are “up against a multi-billion pound industry” with lobbying groups briefing politicians and civil servants.

He says previous Governments ran scared of vested interests that fund political parties and threaten judicial review.

A group of freeholders is appealing a Divisional Court ruling of October 2025 that dismissed their challenge to the 2024 Act.

The Court of Appeal granted permission in April 2026, with a hearing expected late this year or early next.

Scoffin says he wants to work with the Government rather than against it, adding: “We don’t want to fight this Government like we fought all the others. [Prime Minister] Burnham can turn it around, there is still time.”

Freehold response

A spokesperson for the Residential Freehold Association responded, telling The Ned: “These comments are deeply misleading and fail to recognise the important role professional freeholders play in the long-term management of residential buildings.

“Leasehold remains an important form of tenure, particularly in complex, multi-occupancy buildings where residents benefit from specialist expertise and oversight. This is reflected in the latest English Housing Survey which found that 93% of leaseholders are satisfied with their tenure.

“Professional freeholders do not profit from service charges. Furthermore, the costs of maintaining, insuring and keeping buildings safe are unrelated to the whether a building is leasehold or not, and those would still need to be met by residents under a commonhold system.”

“The RFA supports greater transparency, accountability and consumer choice, and has consistently engaged constructively with successive governments on reform. Meaningful improvements for leaseholders require engagement with those responsible for managing residential buildings, rather than unfounded attacks that distract from the issues facing residents.”

MHLCG has been approached for comment.