DoV to Remove S121 - Laws Changing?

maton91

Hi all,

We bought a freehold house nearly 4 months ago and towards the end of the process the S121 regarding estate rent charge came up

Our bank reviewed this and proceeded with giving us a mortgage which is fixed until Sept 27

We were happy with this as it gives us until then to sort a Deed of Variation removing the S121 clause in case we want to remortgage to another bank who might not accept the same terms, or if we want want to see in the future

when we enquired to our solicitors about our request to pay for a DoV to remove S121, they advised that the law may change regarding this in the next 12 months, so therefore a DoV wouldn't be needed

Are my solicitors correct or is it a bit pie in the sky?

mta999

This may be relevant

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/enhanced-protections-for-homeowners-on-freehold-estates/enhanced-protections-for-homeowners-on-freehold-estates

maton91

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872737#Comment_81872737

Thanks for this

So what happens after this consultation ends next month, does it get discussed at parliament to then become law? When will this happen?

eddddy

maton91  said:

So what happens after this consultation ends next month, does it get discussed at parliament to then become law? When will this happen?

As the linked document says:

The government will therefore repeal sections 121 and 122 of the Law of Property Act 1925 as soon as parliamentary time allows,

So there is no definite timeline.

There is a lot of talk about some of the contentious Leasehold / Freehold reforms being challenged in court - which could delay things by months or years. I don't think that repealing section 121 would be seen as contentious, but it might still get held up with the other stuff.

maton91  said:

when we enquired to our solicitors about our request to pay for a DoV to remove S121, they advised that the law may change regarding this in the next 12 months, so therefore a DoV wouldn't be needed

So are your solicitors actually advising you not to get a DoV?

Or are they just telling you that the law may change, and if it does change the DoV would become redundant?

Maybe ask your solicitors to clarify their advice.