‘Radical’ plan for leasehold reform

The legal minutiae of a leasehold are not something most people consider when caught up in the emotional whirlwind of buying a flat or house but it can turn out to be a long-running irritant and expense. In England and Wales a fifth of flats and houses are governed by medieval leasehold law that allows landlords or freeholders to grant the buyer the right to live in a property for between 99 and 999 years. Ministers want to reform the law to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to buy the freehold of their property and to give them the right to extend the lease to a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent.

John Stephenson, Partner in our residential property team, comments on subject in an article for The Times.

The full article is available to subscribers of The Times, here.