New leasehold rules in England delayed due to 'flaws' in reforms

Leasehold reforms face more delays due to Conservative Party flaws, a minister has said. Matthew Pennycook says Labour Party MPs and the government must close loopholes in changes to rules in England and Wales passed by Michael Gove.

Matthew Pennycock, the Housing Minister, told the Guardian he remained committed to ending what he called the “feudal” leasehold system, which means homeowners have little say over the charges they pay or the way their buildings are managed. He promised to abolish the system before the next election.

Pennycook said: “We are determined to act as quickly as possible to protect leaseholders suffering from unfair practices, but we’re equally determined to take the time necessary to ensure our reforms are watertight and to the lasting benefit of leaseholders.

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“We committed in our manifesto to finally bringing the feudal leasehold system to an end and that is precisely what the government is determined to do over the course of this parliament.”

Sebastian O’Kelly, director of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, said: “This is the death knell of leasehold … Pennycook is a cautious, detail-driven minister, but 5 million people are now living in homes with a flawed tenure the government wants to ban.”

Harry Scoffin, the founder of the campaign group Free Leaseholders, said: “This isn’t the insurgent government-of-delivery we were promised. Instead, we face burial under yet more consultations. Leaseholders will remain financial captives for years to come. Deep-pocketed vested interests benefit from these delays.”

"As a minimum, this should include mandatory professional qualifications which set a new basic standard that managing agents will be required to meet. We will consult on this matter next year," Mr Pennycock, the Labour MP, said.

"Finally, we are determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will consult next year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders," he added.