The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill recently introduced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration aims to provide assistance to the 752,000 leasehold households in England and Wales.

• The bill is designed to simplify and reduce costs for leaseholders looking to extend their lease, purchase their freehold, or take control of the management of their building,
• the proposed reforms include banning leaseholds for new houses (excluding flats), extending the standard lease extension term to 990 years with zero ground rent,
• lifting the limitations for non-residential buildings, enhancing transparency regarding service charges,
• eliminating the presumption for leaseholders to cover their freeholders’ legal expenses when challenging poor practices,
• granting the same rights of redress to freehold homeowners on private and mixed tenure estates as leaseholders,
• removing the two-year ownership requirement for new leaseholders to benefit from these changes.