The Government has this week announced plans to reform Leasehold, eventually seeking to replace it with a form of commonhold.
As promised in the Labour Party's manifesto last summer, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced the Commonhold White Paper, outlining plans to give homeowners a stake in the ownership of their buildings from day one - removing the need to pay ground rent and granting leaseholders greater control over how their buildings are managed.
Leaseholders have called for the proposals to be extended beyond new builds to ensure existing homeowners can benefit from the changes.
Changes set out in the Commonhold White paper include:
Greater flexibility over development rights, helping developers build with confidence and maintaining safeguards for the consumer.
New rules that will enable commonhold to work for all types of developments.
Giving mortgage lenders greater assurance with new measures.
Canning Town leads the way
British people have traditionally disliked the idea of apartment living and preferring homes in the suburbs, although this has more to do with culture rather than concerns over leasehold (it’s hard for an Englishman’s home to be his castle, if he doesn’t have a garden or a street-facing front door).
The Labour Government may market their proposals around the need to stand up to landlords (in a nod to the left-wing of the Party), but the policy has some practical reasons behind it as well.
The Government’s survival will in no small part depend on its ability to deliver 1.5 million homes by 2029. Changes to the Green Belt and increased housing targets are important parts of this, but there is no single silver bullet.
High-rise apartments in central city locations are going to be an important part of hitting 1.5 million. In promoting high-rise living, Labour is going to have nudge both the market and the wider population in three main ways:
Make it easier for local authorities to build high-rises, perhaps by bringing in more Development Corporations who can push through development – such as in the former Olympic area which has seen large amounts of high-rise buildings in areas such as Canning Town in East London.
Dispel some of the fears and concerns around living in high-rises, including by pushing for residents to have more control (such as through commonhold), and by also addressing security fears which came out of the Grenfell tragedy.
Make high-rise living attractive, by ensuring that high-rise locations are accompanied by infrastructure and community amenities to rival the suburbs.
The upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill is set to be unveiled this month, and Labour’s approach to high-rise living are likely to be in tandem with plans to promote more housebuilding in the countryside and suburbs.