Comment from Cavendish Legal Group on the Leasehold Reform Bill: "gov needs to go a step further"

01 December 2021

Jonathan Frankel, litigation partner at Cavendish Legal Group, said: “It is incredibly positive that the Leasehold Reform Bill has passed its first stage in the Commons unopposed. It clearly shows the direction of travel away from exorbitant leasehold rents, down to nothing.

“Anyone buying a new property now also has the reassurance that developers can only charge a peppercorn rent on all new leasehold properties, which is effectively zero.

“The same applies to anyone extending their leasehold under the statutory route in that they will be able to reduce the amount they pay to next to nothing. This is currently subject to a two-year ownership provision. Whether that onerous condition stays put through the parliamentary reforms remains to be seen.

“The government now needs to go a step further and introduce nothing more than a peppercorn leasehold rent for all existing leaseholds.”