Making the Move to Commonhold Work for Homeowners

Earlier this week, I co-sponsored a parliamentary drop-in with Chris Curtis MP and legal experts from Keoghs LLP to consider the Government’s proposed transition from leasehold to commonhold.

With the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill expected to be introduced this Autumn, it was an important opportunity to discuss how the proposed changes will work in practise for homeowners across the country.

For so many, leasehold has become a financial and emotional nightmare. I’m frequently contacted by residents across Newbury and West Berkshire who are stuck in unsafe building conditions while facing ever-rising service charges at the hands of distant management companies who evade responsibility.

In 1909, Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George labelled leasehold as “blackmail.” More than a century later, it remains an all too familiar and indefensible situation that needs to be addressed.

The Government’s draft bill, published at the start of this year, was a strong step forward. Establishing a commonhold framework, ending leasehold for new flats, abolishing forfeiture and ground rent reform, are all welcome advancements. But now that the direction of travel is clear, homeowners need reassurance that the transition to commonhold will actually work.

At the drop-in, MPs from across the House spoke with representatives from Keoghs, Zurich, Aviva, and the Association of British Insurers about the practical challenges ahead, including improvements to building safety, governance, and regulation. Getting these arrangements right is vital if commonhold is to give homeowners greater control and a clear understanding of their long-overdue rights and responsibilities.

But this won’t be a clean switch: existing residential leaseholds will be with us for years to come. So, as I have made clear in the Chamber and at every opportunity during Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee sessions, action remains absent on soaring annual service charges and stronger powers to hold property management agents to account. 

The recent announcement to introduce independent regulation of property agents was much welcome, while at the Labour Party conference last month, the Prime Minister pledged to leaseholders that “The days of you being squeezed for every penny are coming to an end.” 

As I continue to push with members from across the House for further action, the next few weeks will show whether that promise will translate into the necessary change’s residents across Newbury and West Berkshire have been waiting far too long for.