The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) said it is “deeply disappointed” that the government has failed to publish the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Bill prior to Christmas.
Leaseholders face yet another Christmas in limbo, the campaigners said, left in the dark and “facing uncertainty that is both crippling and disheartening.”
Linz Darlington, managing director of lease extension specialists Homehold, has also criticised the delays, pointing out the government has broken two further manifesto commitments regarding leasehold reform.
“Despite pledging to ‘bring the feudal leasehold system to an end’, a promise that helped secure them their landslide election victory, the government admitted it will neither publish the long-awaited Leasehold and Commonhold Bill this year, nor launch a promised consultation on lease extension valuation rates,” Darlington said.
“With progress stalling, frustration is growing not only among leaseholders and campaigners, but increasingly within Labour’s own ranks. As recently as November the government promised that a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Bill would be published by the end of this calendar year. However on 18 December the government confirmed it they would not meet its commitment, citing ‘unforeseen delays’.”
The NLC and its founders Katie Kendrick OBE, Cath Williams OBE and Jo Darbyshire OBE said the delay will leave leaseholders feeling “abandoned, angry and frustrated.”
“Their mental health is deteriorating under the weight of uncertainty and exploitation which is unacceptable and untenable. The prolonged wait is torture for leaseholders and leaving this announcement of the delay until the final day of the parliamentary session was cruel.”
This delay comes just a week after housing secretary Steve Reed committed to releasing the draft bill by the end of the year, the NLC added.
“The government should not say things they cannot deliver. It is no surprise leaseholders have lost faith wondering whether real change will ever happen.”
A consultation was promised by the government in November last year, which it said would be introduced by the summer.
“Summer has turned to winter for leaseholders, and despite two other related consultations on service charge transparency and ‘fleecehold’ estate management being launched, this manifesto commitment was conspicuously absent,” Darlington said.
He added:
“It seems that the Labour government is working just quickly enough on leasehold reform so, to the general public, it looks like they’re making progress, but without much threat of having to implement a workable solution to such a thorny problem by the end of this parliament.
“In October the High Court enthusiastically dismissed a legal challenge brought by several groups of major freeholders, ruling that the enfranchisement provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 were legal. What more does this government need to press on and fulfil their manifesto promises?”
The NLC is calling on the government to “get a grip” on the leasehold reform agenda ad provide leaseholders with the change they have been repeatedly promised.
“The draft bill must be published upon their return in the new year if there is any hope of restoring faith in their commitment to helping leaseholders,” the campaigners said.
“We also need reassurance and commitment that the bill supports the best interest of leaseholders and not wealthy investors who exploit the system and treat our homes merely as cash cows. Only sight of the bill can provide this.”
2 responses
Despite dangling the reform carrot in front of desperate leaseholders the labour government have confirmed that they are never to be trusted and only interested in keeping abused leaseholders off their back so prolonging their good relations with fancy, wealthy, greedy freeholders and their dispicable practices.
Change it, now.
All the delays with the implementation of major parts of the 2024 Leasehold Reform Act are unfortunately down to poor drafting of the Act, trying to do too much and not listening to advice from experts in this field (mainly Chartered Surveyors) as to what would work and what would not and what was needed and what was not. Some parts are just not ‘fit for purpose’.