Much-awaited plans to reinvigorate commonhold mark the 'beginning of the end' of leasehold tenure, ministers said today. In a white paper the government proposes among other measures:
- New rules that will enable commonhold to work for all types of developments, including mixed-use buildings and shared ownership homes
- New measures to protect the solvency of commonholds
- Strengthening the management of commonholds, with new rules around appointing directors, clear standards for repairs, and mandating use of reserve funds
The government said the paper is pushing forward the majority of the Law Commission’s recommendations in its 2020 report 'Reinvigorating commonhold'.
Announcing the white paper, Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: 'By taking decisive steps to reinvigorate commonhold and make it the default tenure, we will ensure that it is homeowners, not third-party landlords, who will own the buildings they live in and have a greater say in how their home is managed and the bills they pay.
'These reforms mark the beginning of the end for a system that has seen millions of homeowners subject to unfair practices and unreasonable costs at the hands of their landlords and build on our Plan for Change commitments to drive up living standards and create a housing system fit for the twenty-first century.'
Reacting to the announcement, Emma Hardman, head of housing management at Birmingham firm Anthony Collins, said: 'For commonhold to be a real success, all sector bodies need to be on board, particularly funders to ensure the product is widely supported on the mortgage market. Taking the bold step of banning all new leasehold scheme forces everyone on board: there will be no choice.'
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