The vast majority of new-build houses in England are to be sold as freehold in a move to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold sector, and put cash back into the pockets of over-stretched house buyers.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP will today launch a consultation on plans to improve the leaseholder sector for would-be home owners, which will bring an end to the unjustified selling of new houses as leasehold.
The consultation will also propose that ground rents for new leases will be capped at just £10. On average leaseholders pay over £300 ground rent each year, with some paying as much as £700.
The proposals will only apply to England, leading to calls from the Welsh Conservatives for a similar ban to be implemented in Wales.
David Melding AM - the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Housing - said that the Welsh Government should broaden the proposals and provide redress for the hundreds of people who are currently stuck in the system.
Mr Melding said:
“The Communities Secretary is making significant strides to protect homeowners and to fix the fractured housing market.
“In Wales we need to replicate that and go further by providing redress for the hundreds of people that are still entangled in this often unscrupulous and feudal system.
“The Welsh Government need to build on these proposals and rebuild a market that people can trust, before a generation of people are denied the right of owning their own home simply because the system is too exploitative.
“There needs to be further consultation with the law commission to see how this can be achieved.
“The UK Government are taking concrete action, now it’s the Welsh Government’s turn”.