King’s Speech 2024

The background briefing, in fleshing out the details, confirms that reform includes the regulation of ground rents (which was referred to in Labour’s campaign and which didn’t make it into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024) and also refers to the abolition of residential forfeiture. This is something that has been on the table for some time—the Law Commission published a report on ‘Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default’ in 2006 (which was not confined to residential leaseholds) but had yet to gain any traction.

Renters Reform

A new Renters’ Rights Bill (the latest incarnation of the previous Renters (Reform) Bill which fell when Parliament was prorogued) will:

• abolish section 21 ‘no fault evictions’, but introduce expanded possession grounds ‘so landlords can reclaim their properties when they need to’
• strengthen tenants’ rights and protections—an example given is the ‘empowering of tenants to challenge rent increases designed to force them out by the backdoor and introduce new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents’
• give tenants the right to request a pet (landlord’s consent not to be unreasonably withheld)
• apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector
• apply ‘Awaab’s Law’, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards
• create a digital private rented sector database to bring together key information for landlords, tenants, and councils, to inform tenants’ choices when entering new tenancies, help landlords to understand their obligations and demonstrate compliance and for councils to use to target enforcement
• introduce a new ombudsman service reducing the need to go to court
• make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children when choosing to let their property
• strengthen local councils’ enforcement powers in relation to unscrupulous landlords

Leasehold and commonhold reform

The government is to introduce a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to ‘bring the feudal system of leasehold to an end and reinvigorate commonhold’ by:

• enacting the remaining Law Commission proposals on leasehold enfranchisement and right to manage
• reinvigorating commonhold by modernising the legal framework and restricting the sale of new leasehold flats (a ban on the sale of new leasehold houses already features in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
• ‘regulating ground rents for existing leaseholders so they no longer face unregulated and unaffordable costs’.

Measures to abolish or cap ground rents for existing leaseholders failed to make it into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 but Labour previously confirmed during its election campaign that it would reintroduce the necessary legislation although did not suggest the level of cap like the Conservatives.

• bringing the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs for homeowners locked into private maintenance contracts for common areas.
• ‘ending the injustice of forfeiture’—it is presumed that this is in the context of residential leases. It was expected that the government would revisit this issue. Some industry commentators suggest that the best way to deal with the issue (potentially losing one’s home for a relatively minor breach) is to replace leasehold with commonhold

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 

More information about the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 can be found in a blog on our website here.

Most of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is to be brought into force under regulations yet to be made. It appears that the government are set in bringing the Act into force but whether there will be any further detail as a result of the above, is yet to be established.