Leasehold System Ending - Leigh-on-Sea

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Leigh On Sea News: Leasehold System Ending – The MP for Southend West and Leigh, David Burton-Sampson, has welcomed changes coming for homebuyers in the future.

Leasehold System Ending - The MP for Southend West and Leigh, David Burton-Sampson, has welcomed changes coming for homebuyers in the future.

The MP for Southend West and Leigh, David Burton-Sampson, has welcomed changes coming for homebuyers in the future.

New Leasehold flats are set to be banned, as the government plans a move to a system of home ownership, where people own a share of the buildings they live in. This will mean an end to the leasehold system, to ensure that in future homeowners will be in charge of their homes and not third-party landlords.

At the moment third-party landlords, known as freeholders, own buildings and leaseholders pay to live in their home for a fixed period of time. In the east of the country, nearly 15% of homes are leasehold, which mean 415,000 people are affected. The change will give homeowners in the future, control over issues like repairs and maintenance.

Commonhold will become the default for all new properties in the future and the government is introducing an outline of measures.

Mr Burton-Sampson said: “This affects thousands of people in Southend West and Leigh.

“Phasing out leasehold for commonhold is great news for people buying their first home and for those living in shared buildings – giving them security of ownership. They will own a share of the buildings they live in, which is a good thing. This change puts homemakers at the heart of decisions over their home.”

The Commonhold White Paper will form the basis of a bill later this year that is likely to include a ban on developers selling new flats under the controversial old system in the future.

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