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<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHousing minister Rachel Maclean has confirmed a bill to phase out some leaseholds in England and Wales will be included in the King’s Speech. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The speech on 7 November will set out government plans for the coming year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ministers have long-promised to change the controversial leasehold system, which has seen expensive fees imposed on homeowners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The bill is expected to ban leaseholds for new houses, but not new flats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The housing department estimates that there are almost 5 million leasehold homes in England – 70% of which are flats. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The proportion of new-build houses sold as leaseholds has fallen from a 15% high in 2016 to just 1% in December 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a social media post, Ms Maclean said the new bill would “restore true home ownership to millions of people and end the reign of rip off freeholders + incompetent profiteering management companies.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n She did not provide further details but posted a link to a piece in the Sunday Times, which said that following a consultation the government would cap all existing ground rents at a very low rate, known as a “peppercorn” rate. Ground rents for properties sold after June 2022 are already capped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The article also said the government would change the standard contract lease extension from 90 years to 990 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When a leasehold flat or house is first sold, a lease is granted for a fixed period of time. People may extend their lease or buy the freehold, but this is often an expensive and lengthy process. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Labour’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook dismissed the government’s plans, saying: “If this thin gruel is all we’re getting in the King’s Speech, leaseholders will have been failed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He said Labour would “fundamentally and comprehensively reform the leasehold system”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Responding to the government’s plans, housing campaigner Harry Scoffin said the ban on leaseholds should be extended to include flats. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He said abolishing existing ground rents was a “radical” plan which would “slash” costs but added: “We need far more to liberate flat leaseholders”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The new legislation is also expected to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to extend their lease or buy a freehold. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is expected to be introduced to Parliament before Christmas, however making changes to the property market can be complicated and the bill could face a tricky journey before becoming law. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Someone who owns a property outright, including the land it is built on, is a freeholder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n With a leasehold, the person owns a lease, which gives them the right to use the property. But they still have to get their landlord’s permission for any work or changes to their homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When a leasehold flat or house is first sold, a lease is granted for a fixed period of time, typically between 99 and 125 years – but sometimes up to 999 years. People may extend their lease or buy the freehold, but this can be complicated and expensive and involve legal fees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Leasehold house owners are also often charged expensive ground rent as well as fees if they want to make changes to their homes. A leasehold house can also be difficult to sell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n MPs back setting ground rents at one peppercorn<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Get on with leasehold changes, MPs tell ministers<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n Published at Sun, 29 Oct 2023 18:50:20 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leasehold law will be in King’s Speech, says housing minister Getty Images Housing minister Rachel Maclean has confirmed a bill to phase out some leaseholds in England and Wales will be included in the King’s Speech. The speech on 7 November will set out government plans for the coming year. Ministers have long-promised to change… Continue reading Leasehold law will be in King’s Speech, says housing minister<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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<\/picture><\/div>\nThe difference between a freeholder and a leaseholder<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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