Leasehold Abolished – Huge News for leaseholders and property owners

great video, leaseholds are crazy. I have a flat with 82 yrs (was just 99 from new!) wondering should I wait for the legislation to come in or renew now before marriage value comes into force.

Reply to the comment left by David Mackley at 21/11/2023 - 10:37
These Leasehold reforms were supposed to include abolition of the marriage value but that seems to have been kicked down the road. Very disappointing.

Freeholders will wail and gnash their teeth at losing income streams from freehold investments and marriage value sharing.

Tough. Property investment like all other forms is not guaranteed. " The value of shares may go up or down" Well so can property. Why should freehold investment with it's parasitical blood sucking freeholders and tame MAs be exempt?

I for one will enjoy seeing them get a good kicking.

Reply to the comment left by Fed Up Landlord at 21/11/2023 - 15:33
Feels like a tenant discussing a landlord on a tenants forum. The irony

I think the capping of pernicious rents ( i.e. those that rise by an amount greater than inflation, i.e. 10/15 year doublers or conflate rateable value with rentable value, i.e. the handiwork of Mr Payne) and the introduction of a sunset clause of say 60 years – the same way that rent charges were brought to an end would deliver beneficial reforms. Such proposals would respect contract law and our reputation as a safe country to do business. Abolishing all current rents with no compensation would put us on an equal footing with Zimbabwe of some 20 years ago.
A measured nuance view could well achieve the goal of making lease extensions cheaper and respecting the human rights of those who have bought these established income streams for some 300 years.
Capping the playability of rents at a peppercorn rather than just in their enfranchisement seems a highly provocative stance. In fact, so provocative that you are left wondering whether there is any genuine sincerity in the proposal. For sure, it will be challenged all the way to Europe. As the average amount is some 76 pennies a day, it would seem incredible to mount a claim that it is in the public interest that such a small rent goes without compensation, notwithstanding the enormous damage it would have on our reputation as a stable country to do business in. In the meantime, the Tories are behind leaseholders championing their cause, getting their votes, and, in the end, delivering nothing, either blaming the European Court or the fact they run out of time.
If there were genuine sincerity, changes would have been proposed in the Leasehold Reform ( Ground Rent ) Act 2022. This idea of capping the payability of rents to nil with no compensation is a new proposal has popped up after four heavy by-election defeats and flies in the face of the legal advice they have been given on its interaction with Human Rights .

They can ban all new build leasehold houses that’s an easy one to do. As far as doing anything else retrospectively I doubt they can actually do anything.

Good news! I bought a leasehold flat cash for £120k with less than 60 years on the lease about 11 years ago. I’ve had a valuation to extend the lease at £50K!!! I don’t have that sort of money but I’m 71 so it will see me out! However I would like to extend the lease so I can leave it to my son when I die and it would still be worth something, current valuation of it is about £80K and decreasing year by year.

Reply to the comment left by David Mackley at 21/11/2023 - 10:37
Don't count on all of this occurring. The Government can't just take from one property owner and give to the other. Most freeholders will do deals to get lease extensions done

Reply to the comment left by PAUL BARTLETT at 21/11/2023 - 15:31
I suspect what will happen is that relativity (used to calculate marriage value) will be set to a national scale and at a lower level as has been held to be just in recent case law. Costs are likely to be drastically reduced The more "generous" the reforms, the more likely a successful legal challenge to the proposals which is why I believe that the reforms will only reduce the cost somewhat of lease extensions not abolish leasehold for existing titles not abolish the concept of paying to upgrade the term. The new lease extensions will be much longer, albeit with potential buy backs in favour of the landlord at the then market value for redevelopment but the much longer leases will cost a little more than a 90 year extension. Personally I think this latter change is a bit of a nonsense but it doesn't really hurt

One of the biggest issues is leaseholder uncertainty about the cost of leasehold extensions. The ratio of older people and first time buyers in flats is high . A prescribed calculator is a must . Generated values could then be fixed for say 13 weeks ! It wouldn’t take much to factor in locational and positional value . That then also reduces valuation costs snd first tier tribunal applications.