On Friday 22nd November the National Leasehold Campaign, End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) and Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP) wrote an ‘open letter’ to the Secretary of State of Housing, Communities and Local Government to stress the urgency to reLEASE Leaseholders and deliver Leasehold Reform which currently leaves millions trapped and suffering.
Dear Angela & Matthew,
Millions of Leaseholders have been in a state of ‘Leasehold Limbo’ since 2017 through years of broken promises and snail pace reforms. Previous Ministers over promised and under delivered. Your new Government has the power to change all of that and redress the status quo.
Labour’s pledge to leaseholders in 2019 states “Leasehold reform is unfinished business for Labour. We legislated in 1967 allowing leaseholders to buy their homes and in 2002 to establish Commonhold as an alternative tenure.” This new Labour Government must finish the job.
We welcome the government’s statement released on 21st November. Our main concern now is the fate of existing leaseholders who are currently suffering at the mercy of unregulated managing agents and unscrupulous freeholders. The government’s published intention to “act as quickly as possible” will not be quick enough for many leaseholders who are facing bankruptcy due to escalating service charges and other associated leasehold costs.
Leaseholders know that ‘Leasehold law is highly complex’, which is a mantra that has been repeated for so long and now feels like an excuse rolled out in every government statement to stall progression. In addition, freehold investors are armed with huge wealth and resources enabling them to hold up any reforms in the courts for years potentially making your timeline irrelevant. Everything is stacked against Leaseholders. It isn’t a level playing field.
This fundamental inequality remains at the heart of the modern leasehold system and why we campaign so hard on behalf of Leaseholders who do not have the luxury of time and are rapidly running out of patience and hope for their futures.
Former Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick in 2017 stated “Leasehold is not only well past its sell by date or its best before date; it is clearly at ‘it’s time to do something now’ date”
We all need your government to “do something now”. You have the power to drive forward this agenda as quickly as possible and help reLEASE millions of leaseholders.
Our Asks…..
- We need you to implement all parts of the LRFA as soon as possible to help existing Leaseholders find a way out of this feudal trap in a more financially acceptable way.
- We need you to priorities the ‘Valuation’ part of the reforms to reduce the costs of enfranchisement / lease extensions.
- Delivery of short-term goals such as.
- Make freeholders pay their own legal fees.
- Improve the transparency of administration, service charges and building insurance commissions.
- Increase of commercial premises from 25 to 50 percent to allow larger mixed-use blocks to form RTM.
- Remove the need to wait two years to qualify for enfranchisement (scheduled for Jan 2025) – but many will be unable to do this due to affordability and awaiting of the ‘Valuation’ changes.
- Change the qualifying criteria for Shared Ownership to allow Lease extensions.
- Respond to the Capping Ground Rent consultation to include a decision to cap EXISTING ground rents with an activation date.
- The government must implement the Law Commission’s recommendations on RTM, address the Fleecehold issue, and advance its plans for the introduction of Commonhold as part of its commitment to “finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end.”
Leasehold issues continue to have a HUGE impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing which is why the NLC have decided to repeat the Leaseholder Mental Health Survey which was initially carried out in 2019.
We thank you for taking note of this letter and are available to discuss its contents further if needed.
Regards
National Leasehold Campaign (NLC)
Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP)
End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS)
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