Should the Government act NOW to reform leasehold? LEASEHOLD SCANDAL

Katiejane13uk

It's great to see The Leasehold Scandal featuring in last weeks MSE Newsletter. Many thanks to MSE for featuring this important issue.

"The leasehold scandal's raged for years, but in 2017 the Government agreed to reform the system by banning the sale of new leasehold houses, restricting ground rents and making it easier to extend leases and buy freeholds. However, so far it hasn't acted to bring in legislation. The Government says it's waiting for parliamentary time - the National Leasehold Campaign says that's not good enough and is demanding reform is pushed through now. If you agree and want to show your support, you can sign its petition. See more on your rights in our What is a leasehold? guide.

Leasehold is a type of long-term tenancy; it is not the same as outright ownership. Gov.uk
The Government have made many promises to end the leasehold scandal but have yet to pass a single piece of legislation which is why this petition is so important.  The Law Commissions recommendations are so important to leaseholders and its vitally important they are enacted by government ASAP.  This will help existing leaseholders massively.  Please watch the Law Commissions short presentation on how their proposals will "Make our homes our own"

I  have always struggled with the phrase "Reforming Leasehold" as a system so wrong and so broken can not be reformed and I am a firm believer the only answer is ABOLITION !  However there are steps that must be taken to ensure the change to Commonhold happens over time and this will be the sunset clause on Leasehold forever (like the rest of the world) !

"Collectively the Law Commissions reports provide the blue print for a once in a generation change to how residential leasehold properties are owned and for Commonhold to become the preferred alternative to leasehold" - Professor Nick Hopkins (Law Commissioner)

Wouldn't it be great to actually "Own" the homes we work hard for. Instead of being a mortgaged tenant?

reefs

I can’t agree more. Leasehold, although 1000 years old is a tenure that has historically had it’s place. Modern freeholders have found numerous loopholes, largely down to the fact there is no regulation and the opportunity to impose an unnecessary fee structure that increases exponentially until a property reverts to them is devastating to the home owner. A property purchased as a home for life is likely to be forcefully taken from the home owner as he or she reaches retirement and finds their pension cannot cover the forever escalating ground rents.

rachel230

Shared Ownership, Help to Buy and the New Build Estate model have seen a huge rise in Leasehold and Fleecehold abuse. People do not seem to be aware that your home is being monetised by others, often large corporations who, in their own words "sweat the asset" ( your home) by way of estate charges, service charges, permission fees, ground rents, extortionate lease extensions etc etc. Oh - and don't forget the cladding scandal which will bankrupt tens of thousands of handworking people.
England is one of the few places which still hangs on to this archaic landlord/serf system.
Well done Katie Kendrick for setting up the National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group which has over 18,000 members and growing rapidly.

Chavril

We can only hope one day this fix this completely unfair system. Unfortunately for me the stress is too much and we will just be paying to get out of this crippling doubling ground rent clause. It will cost us £37k more than the deposit we put down on our flat 4 years ago. All we wanted was to own our home and start a family, we worked hard and now I wish we never even bought our home. 

bids24

My parents always said to never buy a leasehold house. How right they were! It turns you into a mortgage paying tenant. You only own a lease, giving you the right to live in your home for a set amount of years. Your freeholder landlord actually OWNS both your home and the land it stands on. That's not really home ownership, is it? It's a form of mortgage paying rental.
In the UK and Wales, only a very, very, few apartments aren't Leasehold. The freeholds of almost all apartment blocks are owned, not by the residents, but by faceless investment companies, a significant number based abroad or hiding their profits in offshore accounts.
Apartment 'owners' need to be just that - OWNERS. Leasehold tenure needs to be replaced by Commonhold tenure, where appartment owners collectively OWN the freehold  building. It's much fairer and it's the way things work in the world beyond our outdated, exploitative Leasehold system. Scotland abolished Leasehold years ago. It's well past time for England and Wales to follow suit. 
The Government knows this and has promised Leasehold Reform, then sat back for two years and done NOTHING. The need for Leasehold reform is urgent. People are suffering, financially and mentally, as a result of such things as the spiralling cost of buying the freehold of their house, extending their lease or paying spiralling ground rent  and service charges. The CMA has confirmed there has been Leasehold misselling. 
The Law Commission has marked Leasehold as needing reform, with urgency.  
The Government has all the evidence that indicates a desperate need for reform now, leading to eventual abolition of Leasehold. 
It's time to take action. 
 

 

hazyjo

Chavril said:

We can only hope one day this fix this completely unfair system. Unfortunately for me the stress is too much and we will just be paying to get out of this crippling doubling ground rent clause. It will cost us £37k more than the deposit we put down on our flat 4 years ago. All we wanted was to own our home and start a family, we worked hard and now I wish we never even bought our home. 

Four years ago? And your solicitor and lender were okay with it? How often does it double? Has it even doubled once in those 4 years? Can't you just extend the lease and lose/ negotiate the ground rent? Where's the 37k figure come from?

penners324

Looks like a lot of trolls just mouthing off on this thread.
I had a leasehold flat, built by Taylor Wimpey. Cost me £1.5k in solicitors fees to amend the lease to RPI increases.

How on earth someone has to pay £50k to fix I've no idea.

md258

I lived in a leasehold flat (one of 40) and i believe leasehold was definitely the right method of ownership. I didn't have to negotiate with 39 other owners about getting repairs/enhancements done and although I didn't agree that they all needed doing, overall it was worth it.

Leasehold houses are a different matter but IMO there is nothing wrong with leasehold flats as long as you understand what you are buying and will have to pay for.

davidmcn

md258 said:

I lived in a leasehold flat (one of 40) and i believe leasehold was definitely the right method of ownership. I didn't have to negotiate with 39 other owners about getting repairs/enhancements done and although I didn't agree that they all needed doing, overall it was worth it.

I think you're conflating the tenure with how communal maintenance is managed. There's no reason why your interest in your flat has to be merely leasehold in order to avoid self-managing common repairs etc.

Tygawudz

Leasehold is slavery. Total ban immediately!

eddddy

Tygawudz said:

Leasehold is slavery. Total ban immediately!

Tygawudz is a troll. Total ban immediately!