{"id":170448,"date":"2026-01-30T02:01:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T19:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/the-guardian-view-on-leasehold-reform-labour-must-stand-up-to-property-investors-editorial\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T14:13:10","slug":"the-guardian-view-on-leasehold-reform-labour-must-stand-up-to-property-investors-editorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/the-guardian-view-on-leasehold-reform-labour-must-stand-up-to-property-investors-editorial\/","title":{"rendered":"The Guardian view on leasehold reform: Labour must stand up to property investors | Editorial"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nA ground rent cap is a good start, but ministers need to go further in reforming an unjust systemChanges to lease agreements, leading to steeply increasing ground rents over recent years, are an outrage. An estimated 18% of leaseholders in England and Wales \u2013 around 1m households \u2013 have a so-called \u201cmodern ground rent\u201d lease, with escalating charges that make it impossible in many cases to remortgage or sell. Cost-of-living pressures, including food and energy price rises, make it all the more urgent that their situation is addressed. Angela Rayner was right to argue in the Guardian last week that ministers must pick a side.This market should never have been allowed to develop in the way that it has. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority found no evidence that leaseholders get anything for these annual fees \u2013 which are separate from service charges that pay for the maintenance of common areas. Campaigners for leasehold abolition are right that the rent-seeking behaviour of freeholders is wrong. Mortgage lenders, as well as politicians, should have put their feet down years ago.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading…
\n
\nSource : theguardian.com
\nRead more…The Guardian view on leasehold reform: Labour must stand up to property investors | Editorial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A ground rent cap is a good start, but ministers need to go further in...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-Ila","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105625,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/homeowners-caught-in-a-crippling-ground-rent-trap\/","url_meta":{"origin":170448,"position":0},"title":"Homeowners caught in a crippling ground rent trap","date":"March 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r A clause in their lease doubled the bill every 15 years, meaning mortgage lenders steered clearSahar Nejabati planned to sell her flat before she got married in order to buy somewhere more spacious to raise a family: but buyers would not touch it because of a clause in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28087,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/tory-housing-policy-overhaul-could-include-rent-to-buy\/","url_meta":{"origin":170448,"position":1},"title":"Tory housing policy overhaul could include rent-to-buy","date":"October 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Proposals to tackle the country\u2019s housing crisis expected at party conference next weekThe government is considering a shift in its housing policy away from a primary focus on home ownership in an acceptance that many people on lower incomes cannot afford to buy a property and instead need help\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61796,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/victims-of-ground-rent-scandal-demand-action-on-existing-abuses\/","url_meta":{"origin":170448,"position":2},"title":"Victims of ground rent scandal demand action on existing abuses","date":"July 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r As government plans to ban leaseholds on new-build houses, there are claims up to 100,000 people own \u2018unsellable\u2019 propertiesVictims of the ground rents scandal are demanding ministers go further in tackling unfair abuses of the leasehold system, amid claims that as many as 100,000 existing homeowners remain trapped in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property 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News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33142,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/the-ground-rent-scandal-that-is-engulfing-new-home-buyers\/","url_meta":{"origin":170448,"position":4},"title":"The ground rent scandal that is engulfing new home buyers","date":"November 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \u2022 Flat owner reports being trapped in property valued at zero just six years after being built\u2022 \u00a31,000-plus fees to freeholder for permission to build extension \u2022 \u00a335,000 quote to buy freehold on Bovis detached house built a year agoFollowing a special report in last week\u2019s Guardian Money, there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property 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