We attended a recent Westminster Legal Policy Forum Conference snappily entitled “Next steps for leasehold and commonhold reform in England and Wales, focusing on priorities for the forthcoming draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill expected later this year, the transition to commonhold as the default tenure for new flats, and implications of recent regulatory and legal developments”. It is fair to say that while some stakeholders sought to suggest that the bill might not (or even should not) ever come to fruition, the message from Rachel Rayner, Deputy Director (Commonhold and Leasehold Reform, Ministry of Housing) was that such sentiments are more wishful thinking than an accurate reading of the government’s evident determination in this regard.
If enacted, this will be a change in the legal landscape to rival even that of the Building Safety Act 2022. If it isn’t enacted as is currently envisaged by the latest Law Commission paper, the currently “dormant” but far-reaching provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will almost certainly be introduced in some way shape or form. Its implementation has only been paused pending determination of exactly how [if?] commonhold is to be revived, to ensure compatibility with the transition to commonhold. This is all part of the government’s intended wholesale reimagining of the ownership of multi-occupancy buildings and estates, and it has potentially huge ramifications, mainly for residential managing agents, but also for commercial property managing agents, and certainly for developers and their advisers. Estate Agents and Letting Agents might also want to be ahead of the curve.
If you have any questions surrounding this act, please contact a member of our Property Team.
