A law firm specialising in leasehold has reported a 200% increase in the volume of enquiries in the wake of reforms to leasehold tenure.
London-based Osbornes Law say they have seen the sizeable increase in enquiries around lease extensions compared to the same time last year. The firm puts the uptick in demand down to impatient homeowners eager to take advantage of reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act despite many of the reforms not yet being enacted.
In January Minister of State for Housing and Planning at Ministry for Housing, Government and Local Communities Matthew Pennycook confirmed leaseholders would be able to extend their lease or buy their freehold immediately upon purchasing a leasehold property, rather than wait two years as was previously the case, from the beginning of February 2025.
Angelina Arora, solicitor at Osbornes Law, said the firm has never been so busy with leasehold extension inquiries because of a trio of factors.
“We are getting scores of inquiries every week and we have never seen anything like it. There is a perfect storm of people impatient for the reforms, the March Stamp Duty deadline and recent changes to leasehold extensions. While previously leaseholders may have been waiting for leasehold reform to come in many are now tired of waiting and just going ahead with a lease extension.I spoke to many clients recently who just didn’t want to wait any longer. They are saying that they have been waiting for the reforms for years now and just want to get on with their lease extension.
Another factor is that the Stamp Duty deadline that will come into force at the end of March which will see people have to pay more tax. A lot of people are trying to sell and want to extend their lease before doing so.”
“The third factor is the abolition of the two year ownership rule in January. This rule meant that a leaseholder had to own their property for two years before they were allowed to extend. Now leaseholders can extend as soon as they have purchased a property. This is very likely to increase the number of enquiries further.”
Further reforms, including the abolition of ‘marriage value,’ greater rights for leaseholder to purchase the freehold and the regulation of managing agents are yet to be introduced as they require secondary legislation.
