More powers to help families in leasehold homes buy their property outright are due to be announced on Monday. UK Housing Secretary Michael Gove is expected to outline plans to end a current leasehold system used on more than 4.5 million properties in the UK.
It is not clear if Gove's reforms will automatically apply in Wales as any fundamental legal reform may cross over into areas in which the Welsh Government has responsibility.
The plans he is proposing would mean that it is easier for leaseholders to pool together to buy out the freehold of a building meaning extortionate management fees and ground rents could be avoided. It would include flats situated above commercial units, which cannot currently be bought.
Read more: People who own empty homes to be given £25k to fix them up
Mr Gove told Sky News: 'In crude terms, if you buy a flat that should be yours. You shouldn’t be on the hook for charges that managing agents and other people can land you with which are gouging.’
He has promised that under his plans leaseholders will no longer have to pay to for costly repairs such as fixing unsafe cladding, with the burden shifted to landlords.
He added: "We want to introduce legislation in the final parliamentary sessions of this calendar year to change the leasehold system.
"It’s not easy in legal terms because you’ve got a tangle of deals going back hundreds of years – unstitching all of that is difficult – but the fundamental thing is that leasehold is an unfair form of property ownership. It is an outdated feudal system that needs to go."
It is estimated that there are around 4.6 million properties in the UK that are leasehold and campaigners have been pushing for reform.
On Monday, the Welsh Government announced that people who own empty homes will be able to apply for a grant of up to £25,000 as part of a new trial. The new £50m scheme to bring more empty homes back to life has been announced by Climate Change Minister Julie James.
Social landlords, local authorities and community housing groups will also be able to access the funding. It is estimated there are up to 2,000 long-term empty properties that could be brought back into use in Wales.
Read next:
