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The House of Lords hastily passed the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill at the last minute.
The bill was hastily drafted and will not impose a ground rent cap, as promoted by Housing Secretary Michael Gove.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will abolish leasehold on new homes but not leasehold on apartments.
It will also extend the standard lease term to 990 years, make it easier for leaseholders to buy out or extend their leases, and provide greater transparency around service charges.
“There’s been a lot of debate about this bill and whether it goes far enough, but while it’s far from perfect, it’s still progress,” said John Jones, head of the residential real estate practice at law firm Jackson Lease.
“While this bill does not address all the issues facing tenants, such as capping ground prices, which many argue should be capped or scrapped altogether, it does put tenants in a better position than before.”
“It would also be the biggest overhaul of the leasehold system in decades and is preferable to having the system suspended for a general election and being saddled with what will undoubtedly be a very long list of priorities under a new government.”
A spokesman for the Residential Freehold Association seemed very pessimistic that the Bill had passed through the House of Lords so quickly.
They said: “The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill is a flawed and poorly founded piece of legislation which ignores the findings of consultation with industry and leaseholders.”
“The government forced this bill through without proper scrutiny, so work needs to be done to ensure there are no unintended consequences that will adversely affect leaseholders.”
All that remains is for the bill to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Parliament will be dissolved on May 30th.