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Leasehold vs. Commonhold

https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/commonhold/
There are now estimated to be over 4 million leasehold properties across England but concerns have been raised over this ownership type.
Commonhold was introduced in 2004 (when a law passed in 2002 came into force) as a new way to own property. It allows a person to own a freehold ‘unit’ – like a flat within a building – and at the same time be a member of the company which manages the shared areas and buildings.
Commonhold has a number of potential advantages over leasehold. These are:
Ownership doesn’t run out – unlike leases which expire and can be costly to extend.
Standard rules and regulations apply – which should make conveyancing simpler and cheaper
Owners have a stake in the wider building and do not have a landlord – instead, owners run the shared areas together.

This is now open for consultation for people to send in their views.

Comments

  • ThePants999
    ThePants999 Posts: 1,748 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I was a bit confused as to why something that was "introduced in 2004" was now "open for consultation". The answer is:
    Our 13th Programme consultees told us that there are a number of issues within the current commonhold model. These issues could make commonhold unattractive to homeowners, developers, mortgage lenders and others across the wider property sector.

    Our project will look at why commonhold has failed to gain popularity, and what changes can be made to the current law to make it an attractive and workable alternative to residential leasehold.

    On 22 February 2018 we launched an 8 week call for evidence to find out what!!!8217;s stopping commonhold becoming more common.

    We are asking for views on three broad themes:

    What the difficulties in creating or converting to commonhold are
    What issues make commonhold unattractive to homeowners
    What issues make commonhold unattractive in the wider property sector

    Later this year, a detailed consultation paper will set out options to address the issues which have been raised in response to our call for evidence
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I suspect the reason is that little is understood about it by the buying public and there are not that many advantages over commonhold v having a share of the freehold and say a 999 year lease at a peppercorn.[/FONT]
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