“For leaseholders who have been putting off doing a lease extension in the hope that the Conservatives would make it cheaper and easier in 2024, it seems likely they will be sorely disappointed.”
On 22 May Rishi Sunak announced a General Election for 4 July.
Assuming parliament does not recess for Whitsun as planned, there will now be a short period of wash-up where legislation can be passed. This must end by 30 May.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has recently passed the Committee Stage of the House of Lords and was expected to have its Report Stage in that house on 5 June. It would have then had some months to reach Royal Assent before an anticipated Autumn election.
Please see the below comment from Linz Darlington, MD of leasehold extension specialists, Homehold who has shared his thoughts on the effect of the general election on this Bill.
He is also available to provide advice on what to do if you are a leaseholder. Please shout if we can help further.
Linz Darlington, MD of leasehold extension specialists, Homehold says: “The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was a Conservative manifesto promise in 2019, but their decision to de-prioritise the most important parts of their reform to the final session of parliament always carried the risk that it would not pass before the next general election.
“The Bill has most recently passed the Committee Stage in the House of Lords and we anticipated that it would have its Report Stage on June 5 – which would have provided ample time for both houses to agree the contents before an Autumn election.
“Clearly for it to pass now, it will have to be prioritised during any wash-up period before parliament is dissolved on 30 May – and there is no guarantee this will happen.
“What is clear, is that even if the Bill is passed, it will not come into effect on a specified day. The drafting of the current Bill means it is up to the Secretary of State to decide when it comes into force.
“For this Bill to be of practical use for leaseholders, certainly from the perspective of lease extensions and freehold purchases, there is further work to be done in terms of Secondary Legislation before it can be implemented. It certainly won’t be the case that lease extensions will be cheaper next month than they are this month.
“Should Sunak’s government be re-elected, then we can assume that Leasehold Reform will be picked up in the new parliament – although perhaps with less emphasis on haste than we have seen in recent months.
“Labour’s stance on Leasehold Reform has been more aggressive in recent years: they previously promised to abolish leasehold in the first 100 days of a Labour government. However, in April, they u-turned on this promise, and after nearly 15 years out of power, it is highly likely that other legislation will be prioritised.
“For leaseholders who have been putting off doing a lease extension in the hope that the Conservatives would make it cheaper and easier in 2024, it seems likely they will be sorely disappointed.”
