New leasehold flats to be banned – what will it mean for home buyers?
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Ban on leasehold flats moves closer in major shake-up of property industry
- The UK government plans to ban new leasehold flats in England and Wales, making commonhold the default ownership structure.
- This aims to address criticisms of the leasehold system, which gives landlords significant control over homeowners and often involves high costs.
- Commonhold ownership will grant homeowners collective ownership of the freehold, eliminating the intermediary landlord and increasing homeowner autonomy.
- The reforms will remove extra costs like ground rent and make converting existing leaseholds to commonhold easier.
- A draft bill detailing the changes is expected later this year.