Conservative MPs threaten to rebel over the government’s new housing proposals.
In a letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, more than 30 Conservative MPs declared their dissatisfaction with the current leasing system and implored the government to eliminate the leasing of leasehold properties.
There is currently no limit to the amount freeholders can charge existing leaseholders for “ground rent”. That’s the money to literally own properties owned by their owners.
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Housing Secretary Michael Gove previously called it “a charge for nothing” and stated a personal preference to move towards a “peppercorn” system where ground rent is as close to zero as possible.
Several Conservative MPs who signed the letter are also in favor of this proposal – citing the promise made in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.
They wrote: “It’s time to finish what Margaret Thatcher started and implement peppercorn rents and other much-needed rent reforms.”
They also claim that many of their constituents are overwhelmed by the cost of living and that MPs have seen the “human misery and financial stress” that the “feudal” rental system sustains.
The letter says the tenancy reforms they want to see are crucial to upholding Conservative aspirations to create a “property democracy”.
O housing The secretary has previously described tenancy as a “feudal system” and there have been repeated pledges from former government ministers to dismantle the system entirely.
Exclusive research seen by Sky News shows scrapping leases is a popular policy.
Among UK voters, the majority want them to disappear completely, and for Conservative voters the figure is higher at 65%. Despite pension funds reportedly facing the biggest losses from the policy reform, the strongest support for scrapping leases was given by voters over 65 years of age.
This is a complicated issue, but owners say they are trapped in a system that gives them little influence.
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When Claire bought her Greenwich flat ten years ago, she thought she was doing the right thing.
She saved early so she could climb the property ladder as quickly as possible and invested all her savings into a starter property. At the time, an affordable option in London was the rental option.
But now, unable to sell the property, she says she feels trapped in a real estate nightmare.
Since purchasing, your service fee has tripled.
It now costs just over £6,000 a year for a two-bedroom flat. There’s then ground rent, insurance and other charges like security – and on top of all that, if she makes a claim for repairs there’s a £500 excess.
David lives in the same apartment building as Claire and is struggling to cope. He gave up holidays and says he had to cut back drastically.
“I can’t tell you how many times you’re up at 2 a.m. worrying about something you literally have no control over, so you lose sleep.
“You know I should be at a stage in my life where I should be able to buy really nice things. But you can’t because you have to keep paying expenses over and over again.”
The government claims that its new legislation would restrict the sale of new rented homes, but not the sale of new apartments (which make up the majority of affected properties, around 70%), as these would still be permitted and largely not affected.
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It also leaves little in the way of retirement for current renters – of which there are around five million in the UK.
The Leveling Up, Housing and Communities department recently consulted on land rent charging options and said it is considering responses.
The current bill already aims to extend the standard length of a leasehold and make it cheaper for people to convert properties into freeholds.
Conservative MP and former Housing Minister Robert Jenrick said neither of these options will be robust enough and that he wanted the leasehold system to be scrapped entirely.
“It’s an affront to the conservative dream of home ownership, it’s not fair and it’s not right.”
Harry Scoffin, founder of the Free Leaseholders campaign group, said: “Every Conservative MP elected in 2019 defended a manifesto committing their party to restricting land rents to a peppercorn, or zero financial value. the side of the young landlords and aspiring first-time buyers, or the rent-seekers, extortionists and middlemen Rishi Sunak must hold his nerve and stand up for the little guy.
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A government spokesperson said: “It is not fair that many leaseholders face unregulated ground rents with no guaranteed services in return, and we remain committed to reducing ground rents to a peppercorn, as set out in our 2019 manifesto. .
“We have recently consulted on a number of options for limiting ground rents for existing residential leases and are carefully considering the responses before making an announcement in due course.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
