There was good news this week for 4.3 million homeowners. But it’s not time to celebrate yetA report by the Law Commission published this week should have made uplifting reading for the 4.3 million homeowners in England and Wales trapped in our feudal leasehold system. It appeared to (finally) spell the end to many of the gruesome practices that have left people in despair, such as ludicrously expensive lease extensions, spiralling ground rents and absurd service charges. But there are billions of pounds at stake here – money that flows to rich freeholders, many of them aristocratic families or companies in the British Virgin Islands, for doing virtually nothing. And they will find one loophole after the next to hold on to their unearned wealth.First, let’s look at the good news. The Law Commission was asked last year by the government to find solutions to the leasehold crisis. Its initial report, in January, set out reforms to the “enfranchisement” process. That’s where you either want to buy the freehold, or extend the, say, 75-year lease on your flat back up to 99 years. Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
Read more…England’s leasehold system is crumbling. Freeholders’ fightback will be nasty | Patrick Collinson
