{"id":54785,"date":"2019-03-29T12:11:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T12:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=54785"},"modified":"2019-03-29T12:11:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T12:11:39","slug":"crack-down-leasehold-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/crack-down-leasehold-deals\/54785\/","title":{"rendered":"Pledge announced to crack down on toxic leasehold deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 40 leading property developers and freeholders have already signed the government-backed pledge<\/a>\u00a0to stop leaseholders being trapped in unfair and costly deals<\/h2>\n

Companies such as Taylor Wimpey<\/a> and Barratt Homes<\/a> \u2013 have already signed the government-backed pledge, which commits them to doing away with onerous \u2018doubling clauses\u2019 that can result in ground rents soaring exponentially over a short period of time.<\/p>\n

The freeholders who have signed have committed to changing the terms of leases for those who are affected. Other industry bodies such as managing agents have also put their names down, vowing to act fairly and transparently in their dealings with leaseholders.<\/p>\n

Ministers have also announced plans to close the legal loopholes that force leaseholders to pay unjustified fees when they take their freeholders to court over pernicious service charges. This includes consultation with industry on whether these changes should apply to existing leases too.<\/p>\n

Under current rules, leaseholders who wish to take their landlords to court to challenge exorbitant fees or unfair hikes in annual charges also run the risk of being forced to pay their landlord\u2019s legal fees. This applies even if the court rules in their favour, hitting some tenants with bills of tens of thousands of pounds.<\/p>\n

The Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP<\/a>, said: Since becoming Communities Secretary, I have repeatedly made clear my ambition to end those exploitative and unfair leasehold arrangements<\/a> that have no place in a modern housing market.<\/p>\n

The new industry pledge \u2013 signed by leading freeholders and property developers \u2013 will further support existing and future leaseholders by protecting them from onerous fees.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s great news that leading names such as Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments have already signed up to the pledge, and I want to see others who have not yet signed up do the right thing.<\/p>\n

Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP<\/a> said: “We want to make sure we have a leasehold system where people are able to challenge exorbitant rates and high service charges. It is unacceptable that the burden of legal fees \u2013 potentially running into tens of thousands of pounds \u2013 is preventing people from seeking justice.<\/p>\n

“The plans announced today will stop leaseholders from picking up the tab for unjustified legal costs \u2013 creating a housing market that truly works for everyone.”<\/p>\n

Richard Silva<\/a>, Executive Director of Long Harbour said: \u201cThis pledge is a crucial first step towards positive change in the residential leasehold market<\/a> and it reflects our commitment to eliminating bad practice from the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 40 leading property developers and freeholders have already signed the government-backed pledge\u00a0to stop leaseholders being trapped in unfair and costly deals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[676,997,276,569,656,944,747],"stakeholder_rel_tag":[],"contributor_rel_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-54785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-planning-construction-news","7":"tag-construction","8":"tag-development","9":"tag-government","10":"tag-housing-standards","11":"tag-housing","12":"tag-landlords","13":"tag-property"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPledge announced to crack down on toxic 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