The Commons Housing Committee has confirmed freeholders have applied to appeal last month’s High Court decision rejecting their challenge to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LAFRA).
Leasehold experts have warned the move could delay the implementation of LAFRA by more than three years, and urged the government to take swift action to ensure the provisions come into force.
‘The sense of relief that the High Court ruled in favour of common sense is now being drowned out by a fresh wave of exasperation’, said Linz Darlington, managing director of lease extension specialists Homehold.
“We are now 18 months since this law hit the statute books, and leaseholders with leases below 80 years or a high ground rent are still no closer to being able to secure a lease extension that is cheaper or easier. Every single day of delay is a day that many can’t sell their properties, the value of their homes diminishes and the cost of extending a lease or buying their freehold increases.
“The High Court ruling was well reasoned and arguably leaves limited opportunity for a successful appeal – but even the delay caused by appeals will be a win for the freeholders. In the meantime, they will benefit from lease extension and freehold purchase premiums paid under the existing legislation.”
The appeal process could take up to 18 months to work though the Court of Appeal and, if the High Court’s decision is upheld, it could be a further 18 months before an appeal would be heard by the Supreme Court. The freeholders could also take their case to the European Court of Human Rights, which Darlington says would be ‘a final delaying tactic’.
‘The promises to implement the act have not materialised, because the government was cautiously waiting for the outcome of the High Court’s decision before progressing their agenda’, he said.
“The High Court’s ruling upheld the act’s legality and confirmed its compliance with human rights, and should be taken by the government as a mandate to implement this legislation without further delay.
“The Labour government must now find the gumption to accept the High Court’s clear ruling and crack on with implementing the act. They cannot stand by and allow the freeholders’ endless, expensive appeals—which are likely to fail—to hold the entire system to ransom. We are demanding they stop waiting for the outcome of appeal after appeal and immediately launch the valuation consultation and lay the necessary secondary legislation.
“Delaying implementation only serves the freeholders, not the people this act was designed to protect.”
4 responses
No surprise but this has really ruined my day.
For a government that are really struggling to get any good news stories across to the public this seems like such an easy win.
Tens of thousands of people like myself helped to get on and move house freeing up an ideal starter maisonette.
Millions of monthly ground rents being spent in the real economy rather than being sucked up into offshore trusts.
And a genuine example of making those with the ‘broadest shoulders’ taking a hit to help get the economy moving.
Why anyone would buy leasehold at the moment is beyond me. This is something that the Government has failed to realise. Both the Tories and Labour slagged off Leasehold to such a degree that no Solicitors/Conveyancers/Buyers want to touch it. A whole section of the housing market has effectively disappeared and left Leaseholds in some cases unsaleable properties. The Government needs to get a grip and if we are going to amend the system, get it done and get it done quickly and not bodge it. If they aren’t going to do it, scrap the lot amendments and just carry on as usual. We cannot leave Leaseholders and a whole section of the housing market hanging like this.
This situation is having a big impact on the UKs housing market and moving forward will help the amount of sales in limbo being hold hostage by an immoral system that’s bringing the whole housing market dawn. It must end. It’s a delaying tacktic so they can pay off the next government. This has to be implemented and public opinion must be very vocal. We can not let billionaires destroy the uk economy
Whatever has happened to the property rights doctrine of “no appropriation without compensation”?
These provisions will take value from one party (the cunning, evil landlords) and hand it to another party (the dutiful worthy tenants), all in the name of social engineering.
Has it been forgotten that many of the institutional investors who own the freeholds and are to be penalised are the pension funds of the workers?
By all means, improve certainty and make it simpler but don’t sacrifice fairness for dogma (or votes?).