Burnley and Padiham leaseholders have been given a helping hand by the Housing Secretary as part of the biggest reforms to English property law for 40 years, making home ownership fairer and more secure.
The announcement means leaseholders will be given the right to extend their lease by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent.
Under the current law many people face high ground rents, which combined with a mortgage, can make it feel like they are paying rent on a property they own.
Freeholders can increase the amount of ground rent with little or no benefit seen to those faced with extra charges. It can also lengthen and lead to increased costs when buying or selling the property.
These changes will mean that any leaseholder who chooses to extend their lease on their home will no longer pay any ground rent to the freeholder, enabling those who dream of fully owning their home to do so without cumbersome bureaucracy and additional, unnecessary and unfair expenses.
For some leaseholders, these changes could save them thousands, to tens of thousands of pounds.
Welcoming the news, Burnley Conservative MP Antony Higginbotham, said:
I want to see as many people as possible own their own home and will do all that I can to make that dream a reality.
The Conservatives have always been the party of home ownership and our new landmark leasehold reforms are the next step in that great tradition. Under these reforms if you are a leaseholder you will be given the right to extend your lease by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent, save households thousands of pounds.
And legislation is to be brought forward to set all future ground rents to zero. It’s one of the many steps we’re taking but a big step at that.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP added:
Across the country people are struggling to realise the dream of owning their own home but find the reality of being a leaseholder far too bureaucratic, burdensome and expensive.
We want to reinforce the security that home ownership brings by changing forever the way we own homes and end some of the worst practices faced by homeowners.
These reforms provide fairness for 4.5 million leaseholders and chart a course to a new system altogether.
The government is also now establishing a Commonhold Council - a partnership of leasehold groups, industry and government - that will prepare homeowners and the market for the widespread take-up of commonhold.
