6 INDUSTRY NEWS
unreasonable ground rents and, for the sake of home owners, the Government is right to clamp down on housebuilders who have been abusing this form of tenure, and with it their customers.” He added: “The Government has also
announced improving the process for recognising tenants’ associations. It is something we have long-supported. Tenants’ associations have rights of scrutiny over the running of their buildings, but with buy-to-let and other types of non-resident owner it is often difficult to make contact with the people who would have a vote in such circumstances. Making that process easier has our support. We would also support changing the threshold of votes needed to form a tenant association, from the 60 per cent in current guidance, to a simple majority.” Anne Baxendale, Shelter’s director of
communications, policy and campaigns, said it’s “good to see the Government upholding commitments from their Housing White Paper,” but that it’s important to remember this is only “one small piece of the puzzle when it comes to our broken housing system.” She had strong criticism for the current
situation, saying the housebuilding system is “failing families all over the country, many of whom are being stuck with ever
increasing charges on expensive, and often second-rate, new homes.” “While the leasehold system can help
make sure new homes are properly serviced, it’s clear it has been abused by developers who are using this to get something for nothing. Ground rent charges should be transparent and fair, and it’s vital that families hit by unjust charges are compensated.” Christopher Grady, partner and
residential development specialist at Weightmans LLP said an outright ban would be “difficult to manage” and noted that developers have already been addressing the issue. He said: “The volume housebuilders I
work with are moving away from the leasehold model to prioritise freehold ales. They’re also taking steps to make leasehold terms more customer centric for those sales still in the pipeline – such as extending the length of leasehold agreements or ensuring ground rent reviews are index-linked.” Grady implored Secretary of State Javid
to “consider that it will take time for major changes to work through the system.” “In the short term there will be many
cases where existing arrangements still require houses to be sold on a leasehold basis,” he continued. “There are also circumstances where long-lease sales are
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid
necessary – particularly where the development land is purchased on a long lease and the housebuilder does not own the freehold.” He said that he hoped the consultation
will consider the benefits that leasehold agreements can offer buyers, “such as where there are costs involved for managing community spaces which are incorporated into the lease and easier to manage.” “In that respect there’s an argument for
the Government to focus on the terms of the leases as opposed to a blanket ban.”
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