Labour minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that a ban on leaseholds in England and Wales is unlikely to come into effect before the next General Election. Speaking about the delay, the Cabinet minister emphasized the need for a cautious approach to avoid disrupting housing supply and encountering legal complications.
Complex Transition
The ban on leaseholds for new houses was passed in 2024, and the government intends to extend it to new flats. However, Pennycook stated, "I think it's highly likely that we don't switch on the ban in this parliament. It's really complex, and so what we really want to do on all of these fronts is have all the primary legislation that we need to end leasehold in place."
He added that switching on the ban involves "some really quite complex trade-offs with housing supply." The government is consulting on a suitable commencement date to ensure a smooth transition.
Criticism from Campaigners
Harry Scoffin, founder of the campaign group Free Leaseholders, criticized the delay, saying, "With developers resorting to free furniture and two-year service charge holidays to lure people into buying their new leasehold flats, foot-dragging is only going to worsen the housing crisis."
Pennycook defended the government's approach, stating that those advocating for an immediate ban cannot explain how it would be lawful, manage the impact on the mortgage market, or feasibly replace millions of leasehold and freehold titles with commonhold ones overnight.
"While our detractors will continue to cry betrayal, and opportunistic populist parties will continue to try to sell false promises to hard-pressed leaseholders across the country, we will continue with the hard graft of doing what is necessary to bring the system to an orderly end in this parliament," he said.
