I’ve been saying for months that faster change for leaseholders is beyond urgent. For too long, my inbox and surgeries are full of the stories that will sadly be familiar to so many of you. Excessive charges, unresponsive managing agents, crippling and unexpected fees – the list goes on.
You’ve had enough. I’ve had enough. And this government has had enough.
This week the government has confirmed that leaseholders will be given more rights and better protections under new rules.
The government will legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to introduce caps on these fees that are genuinely reasonable and that 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.
And 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.
This is the start, with the PM announcing just yesterday that the government will introduce a bill for long overdue leasehold reform.
Under Labour, the days of leaseholders being squeezed for every penny are coming to an end.