Leasehold reform 2024: What homeowners need to know

The Homeowners Alliance has been closely following the upcoming Leasehold reform 2024, a significant overhaul of leasehold laws aimed at empowering homeowners and curbing unfair practices. The reforms mark a change in the property market, focusing on eliminating outdated practices that often leave leaseholders at a disadvantage.

The key changes in the Leasehold reform are:

• Abolishing ground rent - One of the most anticipated changes is the abolition of ground rent for new leasehold properties. Previously, leaseholders were required to pay an escalating ground rent, often with no benefits. This reform seeks to abolish this outdated fee, making homeownership more affordable.

 

• Simplified lease extensions - The reforms aim to simplify the process of extending leases. Leaseholders will have the right to extend their leases up to 990 with zero ground rent, protecting the value of their property with greater security. This change makes extending leases easier and more cost-efficient, benefiting current and future homeowners.

 

• Extending the Leasehold scandal - Over the years leaseholders have faced rising fees, limited rights and a complex buying process. The 2024 reform aims to address these issues by curbing excessive service charges, implementing a fairer dispute resolution process, and offering leaseholders more control over their homes.

 

• Easier path to freehold ownership - The reforms also include measures to simplify the process of purchasing the freehold, giving leaseholders a straight forward route to owing their property outright. This move is expected to remove the unfair and costly barriers that prevent homeowners from getting full control over their homes.

The Leasehold reform 2024 represents a significant step towards levelling the playing field for homeowners. By addressing the longstanding issues around leasehold property and introducing more fair practices, these reforms will hopefully allow homeowners to have more rights, transparency, and control over their properties.

Frank Smith & Co

30.8.24