Push for alternative to leasehold system Expansion of the commonhold system of home ownership as an alternative to leasehold tenancies has been urged by the government’s law reform adviser. Commonhold – where people own their homes without an expiring lease – was introduced 14 years ago, but has been little-used. Meanwhile, there have […]
For God’s sake! Now it emerges £8.3 billion Help To Buy scheme – that turned house builder executives into multi-millionaires – is not available on commonhold properties!
The Help To Buy scheme that has hugely boosted plc house builders share prices – and turned the likes of Persimmon’s Jeff Fairburn and David Jenkinson into multimillionaires – is not available for commonhold properties. This astonishing revelation comes from small house builder (and former leaseholder) Stewart Moxon, of Hopton Build. He trying to selling […]
Leasehold needs to stop being a means to produce ‘ever-increasing profits’, says Conveyancing Association
The Conveyancing Association says it is going to deliver a “full and frank” response to Sajid Javid’s consultation on the leasehold sector. “It’s clear that we want to move away from leasehold being used purely as a motive to generate income, and produce ever-increasing profits for whoever might own the freehold,” writes Eddie Goldsmith, the […]
LKP guidance for responding to the government consultation on tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market
This article offers some tips on responding to the government consultation on “tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market”. It gives you links to some of the documents you might want to read and gives an explanation of some of the questions asked in the consultation as well as highlighting some of the issues you […]
Urban Owners finds 41% of leaseholders have not had lease terms explained by solicitors
Less than 2% worried about about ground rents when buying a flat Less than 5% have a good understanding of commonhold, but … … APPG on September 11 is to consider the ground rent scandal, the government response to it … and the need for commonhold to replace leasehold The LKP-accredited management company Urban Owners […]
Commons Library’s excellent resume of leasehold problems will give MPs plenty of ideas for reform
The Commons library has done a superb job of spelling out the problems of leasehold. It is the first time we have seen a third party report into this sector with no regard to the disingenuous interventions from self-interested professionals, trade bodies, dubious “stakeholders” or compromised quangos. Its report, published yesterday and written by Wendy […]
Spire View, in Pickering, shows a commonhold future with no leases at all, says Sunday Times
Just before Sajid Javid’s ban on leasehold houses and pledge to reduce ground rents to “as low as zero”, commonhold tenure – on the statute book since 2002 – has raced back onto the housing agenda. The issue is now up for consultation. The Sunday Times today reports how Spire View in Pickering, North Yorkshire, […]
Time to ‘get political about leasehold’, says the Financial Times
The Financial Times today produces an important article urging reform to protect leasehold property owners. Now is the “perfect time for the political parties to grasp the deadly nettle of leasehold property”, says Lindsay Cook, who wrote a brilliant article on leasehold in July. Leasehold is a feudal, wasting asset with opportunities for exploitation, says […]
Philip Rainey QC: Reform of the law is a duty (and for landlord and tenant law it is overdue)
In an address to the ARMA conference last week, Philip Rainey QC (right) did nothing less than urge the whole-scale reform of landlord and tenant law that has provided him with a comfortable living. Although prefaced with the lawyerly proviso – “it should not be assumed that I agree with all or any of the […]
CML: Will mortgage lenders lend on commonhold? No. Yes. Maybe … er
Council of Mortgage Lenders, CML, lists banks lending on commonhold title. Commonhold tenure was introduced in 2002 as a welcome alternative to leasehold but there was very little take up. Given the lucrative racket involved in selling freeholds, with its ground rent and other dubious incomes, developers were never going to give up voluntarily a […]
Welcome to Spire View, our commonhold paradise …
– 15 commonhold properties in Pickering, North Yorkshire, originally for over-55s – Built by New Zealand architect, who did not exploit the monetising possibilities of English leasehold law – Swimming pool, guest suite, communal gardens, orangerie communal boiler – Three still for sale. £2,000pa service charge (no extras) Spire View in the attractive market town of […]
Commonhold or leasehold, it still needs managing
The final paper presented last week at the LKP round table on commonhold came from Nigel Glen, the CEO of ARMA. Mr Glen confined himself to emphasising the need for leaseholders, or commonhold owners, who run their own blocks to be aware of the law and obligations of communal living. Mr Glen told the round […]
For first time in 14 years, Westminster hears more of commonhold
The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership held a roundtable meeting last week to address commonhold, the form of flat ownership that prevails in the rest of the world – and has failed to make any inroads into England and Wales. These are the only two countries in the world where flats are sold on long tenancies […]
If you want to reform leasehold, this is how you could do it
The paper below by Philip Rainey QC was presented to the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership’s all-party round-table meeting at Westminster on January 29 2015. It is a superb analysis of the defects of leasehold law, along with suggestions to reform them. Mr Rainey makes clear that these views are not necessarily wholly, or even in part, […]
Telegraph reports that leasehold newbuild flats are on the rise
A good article in the Telegraph about leasehold newbuild flats being on the rise. They make up 43pc of all newbuild registrations with the Land Registry, compared with 22pc in 1996. While leasehold newbuild flats were up by roughly 10,000, leasehold houses also sharply increased: registrations of newbuild detached leasehold houses more than doubled in […]
Realities of leasehold spelled out during the Housing Bill
– Commons urged to back amendment to abolish leasehold by 2020 in favour of commonhold – Tchenguiz, Peverel and Cirrus get another Commons naming – McCarthy and Stone told to explain collapsed second-hand values of retirement flats – Leasehold Knowledge Partnership praised, and thanked for reasonably accurate figures for leasehold sector Labour MP and LKP […]
