Government has ‘missed golden opportunity’ on leasehold reform
Leasehold lawyers say Labour has blown a chance to reform the law quickly and help millions of people escape expensive and 'unfair' system of ownership.
The Government has missed a “golden opportunity” to progress leasehold and freehold reform with its latest announcement, according to leasehold specialists.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed last week that Labour intends to ‘end leasehold’, and make commonhold the ‘default’ tenure during the current parliament.
He said the Government will do what is necessary to “finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end”.
Little action
Now leasehold firm Homehold says it is six months since the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was passed in the wash-up before the General Election.
And although Labour made a promise in the King’s Speech to implement this quickly, little action has been seen since, and the written statement from Pennycook does nothing to move things along swiftly.
Linz Darlington, MD at Homehold, says: “It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of leaseholders are waiting for this legislation to be turned on and make good on its promise to make it “cheaper and easier” for them to extend their lease.
The Government has now said that they will launch yet another consultation.”
“In the meantime, many of these homeowners will be stuck in properties that they cannot sell or remortgage,” he says.
“The Government has now said that they will launch yet another consultation.
Golden opportunity
“They are missing a golden opportunity to put into force the other easier to implement benefits at the same time”.
Gary Scott, Leasehold Specialist at Spector Constant & Williams, says: “The fact that the Government has recognised the complexity of the task they have set themselves is a positive news.
“The announcement that the 2-year rule will be gone in January will be very welcome news. It served no purpose in modern times and merely gave lessees an additional layer of documentation to have to deal with when buying or selling leases.”
