The Labour government has confirmed new rules that will affect millions of UK homeowners, with leaseholders set to gain more rights and protections.
The Prime Minister has pledged to introduce a Bill before Christmas for what he called a 'long overdue' leasehold reform, telling leaseholders that “the days of you being squeezed for every penny are coming to an end”.
Cap on permission and admin fees
Under the current system, leaseholders can be forced to pay fees to receive their landlord’s permission for simple requests like keeping a pet, with no certainty of the costs and no clear oversight of the process.
The government will now legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to introduce caps on these fees which landlords must follow. These powers will also cover privately managed estates where homeowners can face similar charges for minor cosmetic changes to their properties.
As well as permission fees, the legislative changes will enable a clamp down on administrative fees, where landlords can charge for providing documents on request, like building safety certificates, or even for simply notifying them of a change in mortgage provider. A public consultation will be launched on the scope of what should be capped and the amount for each item.
Independent regulation of property agents
For the first time ever, the government intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents – giving leaseholders, tenants and homebuyers a route towards better rights and protections.
A regulator can set codes of practice, such as standards of conduct and proper complaint handling for those they regulate. Property agents will be required to obtain a license to do the job, as well as appropriate qualifications to operate. If they fall foul of the required standards, the regulator would have the power to take their licenses away.
These measures will fundamentally rewire homeownership, whilst supporting over 5 million existing leaseholders and future homeowners, who will benefit from stronger control, powers and protections. The government is committed to bringing forward these changes as soon as possible and will set out more information in due course.
