THE LAW COMMISSIONS LONG AWAITED VALUATION REPORT HAS BEEN RELEASED……

The Law Commission released their report on enfranchisement yesterday. The main document is 322 pages or their summary is 32 page. Both are difficult documents to get your head around.

https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/leasehold-enfranchisement/

The NLC statement is below:

Whilst we are thankful to the Law Commission for carrying out this piece of work leaseholders will not receive the content of the report as favourable.

Leaseholders have put so much time & effort into completing consultation after consultation regarding leasehold reform in the hope much needed radical changes were on the horizon.  We needed the law commissions valuation report to give us hope that people will be able to afford to buy a way out of this mess. We still don’t have that. 

The aim of making it easier, quicker and more affordable is no clearer than at the start of this consultation 18 months ago. The report is immensely complicated and confusing with 3 main options proposed with 7 sub options for the government to choose from.  It could leave an already complicated system even more so depending on which option the government chooses or rather is persuaded to choose.   I have no idea how a leaseholder will be able to understand and navigate most elements of this report. 

This has been the best chance in decades to bring about meaningful much needed changes to the leasehold system, yet it appears they are doing nothing more than tinkering around the edges and keeping the status quo.  It is deeply disappointing. 

We can only hope that the government will take the much needed BOLD action to address the imbalance of the leasehold system.  It may be correct to consider the human rights of the landlords, but they should have been considered in light of the fact those landlords have been allowed by a deeply flawed leasehold system to abuse the human rights of leaseholders over many decades.  Decades in which successive governments have effectively duped the consumer into believing there were no problems with leasehold tenure.  Decades in which developers have been allowed to create leases that in some cases are so onerous that people cannot sell their homes.  Leases which have allowed the developers and landlords to make billions of pounds out of other people’s homes.

CALLING ALL LEASEHOLDERS TO UNITE TOGETHER. THIS IS A CRUCIAL TIME IN OUR CAMPAIGN. WE NEED YOU.

PLEASE ASK YOU MP TO JOIN THE APPG ON LEASEHOLD & COMMONHOLD REFORM