The financial consequences were dire
The piece included a film of Jo Derbyshire, who describes the process that she went through but on buying her property. She was told that it was leasehold, she was told that the ground rent would be £295 per year and that that cost would double every ten years. But crucially she says that she didn’t understand what leasehold really was and what the consequences could be.
Her leasehold was sold on to an offshore investor just 11 months later 'and the financial consequences of that were dire.
'At that moment, when I had that penny drop moment that not only do I not own the ground that the house is built on, I but I don’t actually own the house was, I felt physically sick
'for me [leasehold] has sucked all of the joy out of having this beautiful house, because it’s not mine, not one single brick of it.'
Ms Derbyshire went on to explain that the conveyancer was recommended by the developer and did not explain that it was common practice for leases to be sold on.
Leasehold: A Life Sentence?
Back in the studio, Mark Hayward explained the findings of Leasehold: A life sentence?, research commissioned by NAEA Propertymark last year and conducted with over 1000 homeowners living in leasehold houses.
Mark explained that while leasehold is common, the issue is with new build houses, of which there are thousands. Our research showed 65% used a conveyancer recommended by the developer with 57% of buyers saying that they did not understand what leasehold was until they had completed the purchase.
The freeholder owns the property and can do what they want with it. The buyers occupying, effectively renting, the property for a period of time. Developers are selling the freeholds on almost immediately and making a profit on that.
Mark went on to say that ground rent is a principle that many people understand but buried in the small print is the detail that the ground rent is escalating every 5 or 10 years and that then becomes an affordability issue. Lenders are discouraged from lending, leaving exiting owners trapped in the property.
Labour consultation launched
In a number of announcements going back several years, Government has said they are banning leasehold on new build properties. Labour have today launched a consultation and say that they don’t want anyone trapped in leasehold properties however tackling this is a huge issue because freeholds have been sold on, many to offshore investors, unpicking that many times over is highly complex and very expensive however Government have instructed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate.
The CMA has teeth. Is it misselling? Well our research shows a large number of people who say that they weren’t aware. People buy with their hearts and are they understanding all of the paperwork they need to go through?
What should existing leaseholders do?
Mark Hayward’s advice to existing leaseholders:
- Find out the real terms of your lease, preferably by going back to the original conveyancer that you used. Go through the small print to understand exactly what the facts are in your case.
- Contact an action group that are local to you. There are many of them about and they will help you to understand the regional picture.
What have we been doing?
NAEA Propertymark has 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. To see NAEA Propertymark's lobbying work, view the Understanding Leasehold guide and more, you can click on the Leasehold Properties page below.
Leasehold properties
We've been working closely with Leasehold Solutions, the National Leasehold Campaign and Leasehold Valuers to raise awareness of the abuse of the leasehold system in newly built homes.
