Law Commission sets out today how it proposes to come up with a better deal for leaseholders and will look at alternatives to this system of residential tenure, that is unique to England and Wales. Today it set out the terms of reference for its work on enfranchisement and commonhold reform, agreed with government. The […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Housing Bill omits necessary ‘changes to leasehold and commonhold’
… and forfeiture needs changing, too Housing minister Brandon Lewis is facing trouble over his Housing Bill with Sir Peter Bottomley today telling the commons: “The Bill totally misses out the necessary changes to leasehold and commonhold. “Some years ago, the House passed a Bill to allow commonhold to come in. It has defects and […]
Ban leasehold by 2020, says MP Jim Fitzpatrick … and introduce commonhold instead
Jim Fitzpatrick, the Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse and a patron of LKP, has moved an amendment to the Housing Bill that will see leasehold ended by January 1 2020. Instead, flats should be sold through commonhold tenure only. This is the first time since the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act of 2002 that […]
Commonhold – How did it go so wrong?
Commonhold was meant to be a shiny new replacement for leasehold, where each flat owner in a block of flats or each house owner on an estate also owned a share of the company which owns the site. A new system supported by all the main political parties throughout the 1990’s. A system which was […]
Council of Mortgage Lenders urged to help LKP end forfeiture
Forfeiture and how to bring it to an end was the subject of a LKP meeting with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association in London this afternoon. LKP is trying to push the subject of forfeiture up the political agenda: for all leaseholder readers new to this site, forfeiture means you […]
Less ‘legal torture’ and more happiness in leasehold, says Sir Peter Bottomley
Sir Peter Bottomley made another strong speech over leasehold issues today at the Chartered Institute of Housing meeting in Crawley. It was titled “Less legal torture and more happiness in leasehold”. “All cases of forfeiture should be reported to the Master of the Rolls, who heads the civil courts,” said the MP, who along with […]
AgeUK’s damning verdict on leasehold in CMA study
– Self-regulation (by ARHM, ARMA, RICS) has failed – Leasehold tenure itself disempowers residents and makes them vulnerable – Commonhold should be explored – Right to manage needs to be made easier for the elderly – LEASE’s ‘problematic’ role serving all sides in leasehold – CMA’s skimpy Ipsos MORI poll ‘should not be used as […]
Guy Fetherstonhaugh, QC, considers commonhold after LKP Westminster meeting
By Martin Boyd Following on from LKP’s Westminster meeting on commonhold last month, Guy Fetherstonhaugh, QC, has written an interesting article published in Estates Gazette. Reproduced with its permission, the article highlights the relative merits of the commmonhold versus leasehold systems.
LKP holds Westminster meeting on commonhold
“Millions have an interest in leasehold living. Most would gain when commonhold or strata title becomes the norm. “This meeting is an important step forward. “In the near future, abuse and misuse and the shortcomings of leasehold can be tackled. “For the future, there should be a timetable to end new residential leaseholds and to […]
Biggest right to manage victory ever at Century Wharf, Cardiff
The Right To Manage Federation writes … The Right to Manage Federation has achieved its biggest ever RTM at a Peverel managed development of 967 luxury apartments known as Century Wharf, Cardiff. This eclipses England’s biggest RTM, the prestigious Metro Central Heights block of 422 flats at the Elephant & Castle completed by the RTMF […]
Mail on Sunday today: Leasehold is becoming an election issue
The Mail on Sunday has today devoted more than a page of editorial to leasehold issues. The article bluntly outlines the abuses faced by leaseholders at the hand of monetising freeholders and the property managers, surveyors and lawyers who serve them. The article is illustrated with a photo of Emma Reynolds, MP, the Labour shadow […]
Time to have another look at commonhold, say Lords. But what are Lord Best’s proposals?
The House of Lords put pressure on the government this week to revisit the issue of residential commonhold tenure as an alternative to leasehold. The initiative came from Baroness Gardner of Parkes, who repeatedly raises leasehold issues in the Lords. There was a commitment to review the 2002 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 10 years […]
