Four MPs have stepped forward as co-chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform.
They are Amanda Hack (Labour, North West Leicestershire); Neil O’Brien (Conservative, Harborough, Oadby and Wigston); Joseph Powell (Labour, Kensington and Bayswater); and Joshua Reynolds (LibDem, Maidenhead).
Neil O’Brien became a co-chair after the general election last summer, along with Mike Amesbury, who has stood down from Parliament. The other three MPs were elected by APPG members in March.
The APPG has 83 members at present – considerably less than during the last Parliament, when there were 186 members – and they include former housing ministers Lord Young of Cookham – who was also in Cabinet – and Lord Greenhalgh, who presided over building safety issues under Michael Gove after the Grenfell disaster.
Overshadowing leasehold reform is the legal challenge via a judicial review into aspects of the 2024 Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act: six large freehold-owing landlords are arguing that the ending of marriage value and the setting of ground rents to 0.1% in enfranchisement calculations infringe their human rights to property.
LKP attempted to intervene in support of government at the high court on 23 May, but we were rejected:
Until this litigation is resolved it is difficult to see how other aspects of leasehold reform can be progressed: such as the housing minister setting a prescribed deferment rate as explained in detail here and the conversion to commonhold.
We are awaiting secondary legislation to the 2024 Act that addresses the unbalanced legal costs regime in leasehold litigation – leaseholders never get their legal costs; landlords always do, under the lease – reforms to right to manage and to fleecehold private estates.
The government is also committed to publishing a draft Bill on commonhold in the autumn, although how conversion to commonhold functions until the freeholders’ litigation is resolved is an open question.
The APPG co-chairs are eager to meet the trade bodies representing leasehold property managers.
LKP is concerned that Labour MPs newly elected met FirstPort earlier in the year to express constituents’ dis-satisfactions, and the fact that the second largest leasehold management group in the country – which also owns a portfolio of “fleecehold” companies – was suspended at that point from its trade body, The Property Institute. The suspension was not acknowledged or, indeed, made public.
The failures of trade body self-regulation are extensively reported on LKP.
We reported how RICS self-regulation descended into shambles in 2016, with 317 struck off or disciplined chartered surveyors reinstated:
Former New Labour minister Sally Keeble resigned as the regulator of the Association of Residential Managing Agents – now The Property Institute – in August 2017 after she was prevented from hearing a disciplinary case:
Mrs Keeble wrote an article for LKP explaining why statutory regulation is necessary, which can be read here
Leaseolders should encourage their MP to join the APPG on leasehold.
The current MPs (26 May 2025) in the APPG are below:
| Jack | Abbott |
| Debbie | Abrahams |
| Sadik | Al-Hassan |
| Tonia | Antoniazz |
| Apsana | Begum |
| Richard | Best |
| Bob | Blackman |
| Polly | Bollington |
| Jonathan | Brash |
| Phil | Brickell |
| Ian | Byrne |
| Ruth | Cadbury |
| Dan | Carden |
| Bambos | Charalambous |
| Andrew | Cooper |
| Daisy | Cooper |
| Neil | Coyle |
| Chris | Curtis |
| Ed | Davey |
| Shaun | Davies |
| Marsha | De Cordova |
| Charlie | Dewhirst |
| Tan | Dhesi |
| Rosie | Duffield |
| Neil | Duncan-Jordan |
| Kirith | Entwistle |
| Bill | Esterson |
| Tim | Farron |
| Mark | Ferguson |
| Gardiner | Gardiner |
| Mark | Garnier |
| Mary | Glindon |
| Lord | Greenhalgh |
| Amanda | Hack |
| Sarah | Hall |
| Monica | Harding |
| Helen | Hayes |
| John | Hayes |
| Baroness | Hayter of Kentish Town |
| Meg | Hillier |
| Lindsay | Hoyle |
| Dr Rupa | Huq |
| Patrick | Hurley |
| Jayne | Kirkham |
| Paul | Kohler |
| Sharon | Hodgson |
| Kevin | Hollinrake |
| Rachel | Hopkins |
| Lindsay | Hoyle MP |
| Preet | Kaur Gill |
| Afzel | Khan |
| Uma | Kumaran |
| Ben | Lake |
| Edward | Leigh |
| Clive | Lewis |
| Rebecca | Long Bailey |
| Rachael | Maskell |
| John | McDonnell |
| Wendy | Morton |
| Margaret | Mullane |
| Neil | O’Brien MP |
| kate | Osborne |
| David | Pinto-Duschinsky |
| Jo | Platt |
| Joe | Powell |
| Joshua | Reynolds |
| Marie | Rimmer |
| Andrew | Rosindell |
| Sarah | Russell |
| Vikki | Slade |
| Cat | Smith |
| Alistair | Strathern |
| Will | Stone |
| David | Taylor MP |
| Lord | Truscott |
| Matt | Trumaine |
| Tony | Vaughan |
| Michael | Wheeler |
| Rosie | Wrighting |
| Yuan | Yang |
| Mohammad | Yasin |
| Lord | Young of Cookham |
Related posts:
20 MPs and Lords sign up for All-Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold
All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold established today
All Party Parliamentary Group: this is how to reform leasehold
MPs set up new parliamentary group to reform leasehold
All Party Parliamentary Group, April 26: Barratt praised at Citiscape; Galliard reviled at New Capital Quay; Taylor Wimpey scorned over ground rent review scheme
Ending marriage value would benefit short-lease owners. But leaseholders with 80-150 years left could face a considerable hike in extension costs over the current unreformed regime
Leasehold definitely needs reform but Commonhold is not the way forward. Commonhold has catastrophically failed in the past but as yet this has not been thoroughly looked at. No point in going from the frying pan into a bigger fire….
Andy,
I found your posting remarkably interesting and would like to know more about “Commonhold has failed in the past”. Would you please be kind enough to elaborate and share your knowledge? I would like to learn more.
Hello Stephen, of course. I have a friend who’s lived in one of these situations. I don’t want to identify him but know that he’s been through an awful time of it. The place attracted a lot of crime and there was nothing in place to stop all the Commonhold rules from being broken – in the end no repairs were being done, neighbours were getting workmen to rip other neighbours off, money was being stolen, accounts all over the place, neighbours were threatening other neighbours, no insurance, fire compliance etc etc. He had a hell of a time and couldn’t sell the place….Can’t be any more specific but hope that helps.
That’s not how it works anywhere in Western Europe or the US and the new White Paper sets out the restrictions and protections like making a sinking fund compulsory and for dealing with repairs etc. And an external managing agent can be appointed as in Scotland. The rest of Europe does just fine.
Andy,
Thank you for your informative and detailed response to my enquiry, I greatly appreciate it and was saddened to learn of your friends situation.
As of June 30, 2023, there are very few commonhold properties in the UK, with only 184 properties registered as “commonhold” in England and Wales. This constitues a very small fraction of the total number of properties in the region.
There are fewer than 20 commonhold developments in England and Wales. If possible, could you share the location of your friends property and the name of the managing agent responsible for it, if one exists?
Both Scotland and now I discover Ireland had no problems with “human rights” and implemented reforms decades ago. Ireland abolished ground rents in 1978!! And made Enfranchisement cheap and easy. No marriage value, hope value, deferment rates or any of these unjustified costs.
the landmark case James v United Kingdom in 1986 makes it clear that the Public Interests overrides freeholder private interest. It is THE key ruling, And is referenced in other disputes such as Lindheim and Others v. Norway in 2012. Human Rights are not an obstacle if our government really wanted to make changes now by completing the LAFRA.
As for compensation, full market values are not necessary, it just has to be “proportionate” and clearly, making the cost so disproportionate that Leaseholders can’t afford to Enfranchise or extend their leases isn’t going to be acceptable.
In the Norway case the Court thought that 300,000 ground rent properties were a lot. Wait till they hear about the 5m English ones! And in that Case their judgement applied to second homes too – every Norwegian’s god given right apparently.
Hi again Stephen. A managing agent was never used as this couldn’t be agreed either. You have correctly recognised the very low numbers of these Commonhold situations which in light of what I’ve already shared with you obviously makes it impossible for me to publically pass on the location of my friends property. Not sure whether or not you’re suggesting that this property does not exist, which to be honest, I’ve got better things to do with my time than try to address this comment if this is what you meant.
In reference to Kev’s comments, as I understand it this Commonhold was run exactly as per the white paper. There was a sink fund but after a takeover by a small cohort it was completely spent in a matter of weeks. In relation to European comparisons, I personally would say that the UK is currently experiencing a large raft of unique social problems which does not make it comparable to other European countries for a multitude of reasons.
I appreciate that I’m probably the first person that people on this site have encountered who is able to feed back someone’s first hand realities and experiences of a Commonhold situation and that it goes against the current wave of popularist eutopean perception of Commonhold. However. I’ve passed on as much information as I can to you in good faith without breaching another persons requested anonymity, which I’m sure that you will respect. Whether or not people on this site chose to realistically look and consider what has happened to others is up to them.
I posted on this site to share someones lived reality of Commonhold not to get into arguments with people. I’ve said as much as I can without causing any further difficulties for my mate so I won’t be responding to any further posts. I hope that some of you on this site are able to open your minds a little more and start questioning your entrenched views.
In my opinion a change to Commonhold would not suit our situation. We are in a Social Housing over 60s retirement complex where extra care is provided by the landlord and management who are one and the same.
The average age is around 85 year and most have no knowledge of leasehold let alone Commonhold. Also 50% of the flats are tenanted, 50% leasehold.
All we ask for is better regulation of landlords/managers so we get a better service on our repairs and maintenance and a fair service charge.
Maybe it would be a good idea if instead of a complete changeover, both Leasehold and Commonhold could run side by side. We could then judge which is the best system.