Sent on behalf of Professor Nick Hopkins
Law Commission: publication of reports on residential leasehold and commonhold reform
21st July 2020
I am pleased to inform you that today the Law Commission has published three reports setting out recommendations for the reform of the law of residential leasehold and commonhold:
- Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease
- Leasehold home ownership: exercising the right to manage
- Reinvigorating commonhold: the alternative to leasehold ownership
We have also published a summary explaining the future of home ownership after reform and of how our recommended reforms fit with Government’s proposed reforms. That overall summary can be accessed here: https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2020/07/Summary-The-Future-of-Home-Ownership-final-N2.pdf.
Summaries of our reports, the reports themselves, and other accompanying documents, can be found at the following link: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/residential-leasehold-and-commonhold/.
Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease
This report sets out comprehensive recommendations for reforming the law of leasehold enfranchisement: the process by which leaseholders may buy – individually or collectively – the freehold of their property or extend their lease.
Our recommendations will reduce the costs of making an enfranchisement claim (and give leaseholders more control over those costs), make enfranchisement rights available to more leaseholders in more types of property, and will make the enfranchisement process less complicated and protect leaseholders from procedural traps.
In January 2020 we published separately our Valuation Report providing Government with options to reduce the price payable on enfranchisement.
Leasehold home ownership: exercising the right to manage
The right to manage is a right for leaseholders to take over the management of their building without buying the freehold.
Our recommendations would simplify the criteria that govern which properties may be subject to an RTM claim and make the RTM available to more leaseholders in more types of property. Our recommendations will also reduce the costs of making an RTM claim.
Reinvigorating commonhold: the alternative to leasehold ownership
Commonhold enables the freehold ownership of flats, offering a way of owning property that avoids the shortcomings of leasehold ownership.
We make recommendations to address the shortcomings in the legal design of the commonhold scheme and to reinvigorate commonhold as a workable alternative to leasehold, for both existing and new homes. Our recommendations will result in a commonhold regime that is fit for purpose for all those involved with a commonhold, whether because they wish to convert leasehold premises to commonhold, are living in a commonhold, are building a new commonhold, or are lending in respect of a commonhold.
For further information about our recommendations, please visit our project website: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/residential-leasehold-and-commonhold/.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Nick Hopkins | Law Commission
Commissioner
1st Floor, Tower, Post Point 1.51, 52 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AG
(entrance via 102 Petty France)