Conveyancing Association seeks Government legislation to deliver leasehold reform
The Conveyancing Association, the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has urged the Government to move ‘further and faster’ in terms of delivering the leasehold reform it has previously promised.
Zah Azeem, Partner at Chartered Surveyors Scrivener Tibbatts agrees, “Government promises now need turning into actions in a whole host of areas, specifically those measures which have already been announced but have yet to be turned into specific legislation.
“The Association has outlined a number of measures that the Government has yet to action into legislation despite previous promises to do so.”
The CA is calling for:
- A fixed maximum fee payable of £200 and delivery within two weeks for the Leasehold Property Enquiry 1 (LPE1) form.
- The banning of the sale of leasehold houses.
- Removal of S.8(2) Law of Property Act from Estate Rent charges so they cannot be converted to long leases if the rent charge is not paid whether requested or not.
- The capping of existing ground rents to the limits in the Housing Act 1988 to prevent long leases becoming assured shorthold tenancies.
- A right to extend leases by 990 years.
The call follows the Queen’s Speech announcement in May which contained the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill, outlining action to ‘prevent the practice of onerous and escalating ground rents from affecting future leaseholders’, to ensure that ‘for the first time ground rents in new residential long leases will have no financial demand’ and that ‘leases will be set in law at a genuine peppercorn level’. The new legislation will also ‘introduce new rights for Trading Standards to levy penalties on freeholders of up to £5000 for breaches of the law’.
If you would like to discuss something related to a property valuation please contact Zah direct via email at zah@scrivenertibbatts.co.uk or call 020 8947 7040.
