Fixing our broken housing market
Our consultation respose to Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market
Our submission to the Leasehold reform inquiry
Our collaboration on the Rita Network guides
Branded as 'the PPI of the house building industry', awareness surrounding the abuse of the leasehold system in newly built homes has gained a huge amount of momentum over the last few years. In March 2017, news of the leasehold trap broke after thousands of homeowners came forward, calling for compensation and asking for government involvement.
Following months of pressure from leaseholders, MPs, and media outlets such as the BBC and The Guardian, in July 2017 the Government vowed to put an end to poor leasehold practices by promising to ban the sale of new-build leasehold houses (although this is yet to be enshrined into UK law). During this time we worked closely with Leasehold Solutions, the National Leasehold Campaign and Leasehold Valuers, to raise awareness of the scandal, and to bring the latest leasehold advice to agents and consumers alike.
As part of our campaign, we surveyed over 1,000 leaseholders to explore the extent of the scandal which has left thousands of Brits facing escalating ground rent, extortionate fees for making cosmetic alternations and unable to sell their homes.
Since its release in September 2018, our research has received coverage with many major news providers and has been quoted in Parliament during debates. It found that 62 per cent of respondents felt they were mis-sold their leasehold property and 93 per cent wouldn’t purchase another leasehold property. In May 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it would investigate whether leasehold properties have been mis-sold.
Download report
On 28 March 2019, 45 freeholders and developers signed a public pledge to 'crack down on toxic leasehold deals'. This included a pledge to offer existing leaseholders ground rents linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) and for freeholders to inform leaseholders in advance of any change to freehold ownership. More info…
The Government’s response to Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market indicated that big steps would be taken in England to stop further abuse of the leasehold market. This included preventing the sale of new-build leaseholds houses, removing the support of the Help to Buy Equity Loan in the purchase of leasehold houses and ensuring that ground rent on all new long leases would be set at zero. More info...
In our submission to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee we outlined our position on what is being done and what needs to be done in reforming leasehold.
Whilst the Welsh Government hasn’t adopted an outright ban on leasehold houses, improvements to the leasehold sector are being considered. NAEA Propertymark is a member of the Welsh Government’s Task and Finish Group set up to reform the leasehold sector.
In July 2019, the group released its report which identified failings in the leasehold system. They put forward recommendations on code of practice, accreditation of agents, options available to freehold homeowners and how to improve education, training and awareness. The report will advise the Minister on leasehold reform including the reform of practices carried out by property agents.
View report
Rebecca EvansNational Assembly for Wales
'We have seen widespread criticism of poor practice in the use of leasehold in Wales. We will not support practices which have a negative impact on homeowners, and I have already taken action to prevent the use of leasehold in new build houses in Wales.
'In terms of where we go next, these are complex issues, and I have asked a wide range of interested parties to advise me so that I can take well thought through and appropriate steps to address the wide and varied concerns that have been raised with me'.
Mark HaywardNAEA Propertymark Chief Executive
'The leasehold sector is a big focus for us, and we’re pleased the Welsh Government is looking into it and taking action to help the country’s most vulnerable homeowners.'
This comprehensive digital guide will help members with best practice on helping people buy and sell leasehold property.
More info...
Book onto this intermediate course covering what you need to do to successfully market and sell leasehold properties.
We provide several guides for you to share with your clients to help them better understand what it means to be a leaseholder.