The Commonhold Council, formed as part of the biggest reforms to English property law for 40 years, aims to prepare homeowners to benefit from greater control over their home and building, with the commonhold model providing a structure for homeowners to collectively own the building their flat is in, with a greater say on their building’s management, shared facilities and related costs. There are no hidden costs or charges, preventing some of the egregious practices currently seen in some leaseholds.
The newly created council will include the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, the National Leasehold Campaign, UK Finance and the British Property Federation who will bring their expertise on the consumer needs and market readiness for commonhold within the housing sector.
The Commonhold model gives homeowners more autonomy over the decisions that are made. They are in control of their building in what is known as the building’s ‘commonhold association'.
The move follows the announcement in the Queen’s Speech, where the government set out its intention to restrict ground rents for new residential long leases to a peppercorn. Earlier this year, the government also announced changes that will mean that any leaseholder who chooses to can extend the lease on their home by 990 years, on payment of a premium, and will no longer pay any ground rent to the freeholder.
These changes will enable those who dream of fully owning their home to do so without cumbersome bureaucracy and additional, unnecessary and unfair expenses.
Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary, said: “We want to give homeowners across the country the autonomy they deserve.
“The new Commonhold Council launched today will - together with leasehold groups and industry experts - pave the way for homeowners in England to access the benefits that come with greater control over your home.
“We are taking forward the biggest reforms to English property law for 40 years – and the widespread introduction of commonhold builds on our work to provide more security for millions of existing leaseholders across England, putting an end to rip-off charges and creating a fairer system.”
