Buying Your Freehold or Extending Your Lease

The Government has recently reconfirmed its proposal to implement reforms around Lease extension and freehold enfranchisement in the current term of Parliament.

Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) came into force on 28 June 2022. It created new financial protections around the cost of remediation of historical safety defects for leaseholders of buildings at or above 11 metres or five storeys with historical safety defects.

While flat owners who benefit from this protection will welcome this unfortunately there are problems around the conveyancing process as it adjusts to the effect of the complex new rules which may adversely affect the sales process and the Government overlooked the effect of the legislation on flat owners extending their leases.

Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 – Royal Assent

In 2018, the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid announced a “crackdown on unfairly sold practices” that would include setting ground rents on new long leases to zero and working with The Law Commission to make the process of purchasing a freehold or extending a lease of a flat “much easier, faster and cheaper”.