The property investment landscape has been facing increasing challenges in recent years, and the proposed Renters (Reform) Bill — currently progressing through Parliament — could represent a significant turning point for private landlords.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received royal assent in the wash up just prior to the election.
It included some of the changes around the rights of leaseholders of flats and houses to obtain extended leases and the freehold that The Law Commission had recommended, i.e. providing for leases to be extended by 990 rather than 90 years, doing away with the need to have owned for two years to qualify for an extended lease and bringing more buildings within the right to enfranchise or manage by increasing the threshold of non-residential parts from 25% to 50%.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LaFRA) represents a significant shift in property ownership laws in England and Wales, aiming to enhance the rights of residential leaseholders, this being flat and house owners.
While it received Royal Assent on 24th May 2024 only a few provisions were brought into effect then, and it wasn’t until the end of January that the first change relating to enfranchisement rights came into effect. This was the removal of the requirement to have owned your flat or house for two years before you could claim an extended lease or the freehold to your house.
Now a number of provisions of the LaFRA relating to the Right to Manage (RTM) have been brought
