The Conservative and Labour party manifestos published recently include policies to reform certain leasehold practices, including high ground rents and the sale of leasehold houses. But Leasehold Solutions says the policies do not go far enough to tackle other major problems with the leasehold system.
Louie Burns, Managing Director of leading leasehold enfranchisement specialists, Leasehold Solutions, said: “It is encouraging to see that both the Conservatives and Labour are paying attention to some of the problems with leasehold, such as escalating ground rents and the sale of new-build houses as leasehold, particularly as neither party even mentioned leasehold in their 2015 manifestos. The policies outlined in the respective manifestos are a first step in the right direction, but they are insufficient to bring about the reforms needed to free home owners from unfair leasehold practices.”
The Conservative Party manifesto includes a commitment to “crack down on unfair practices in leasehold, such as escalating ground rents.” However, although Prime Minister Theresa May previously stated in Parliament in March that she ‘doesn’t see why’ developers are selling new-build houses as leasehold, the Tory manifesto stops short of calling for policies to reform other aspects of the leasehold sector, such as banning the sale of new-build leasehold houses.
