If you wish to finally own your property, and have the archaic leasehold system in England and Wales abolished altogether , please sign this petition and SHARE. If not for yourself, for all those people who are stuck in it. 

 
How is it possible to buy something and yet still not own it? 
Leasehold system is an unfair system of ownership, virtually unique to Britain and dates back to the 11th Century. It is a legal system designed so that wealthy families could keep wealth (namely property / land) in the family or firm, passing down through the generations.
As such land or property is sold on a long lease of many decades or even centuries, but the ultimate ownership, or freehold, does not change hands, and the property is returned to the freeholder when the lease expires. So it’s all for the benefit of the freeholder and not the homeowner.                        
Its continued existence in Britain has proved increasingly controversial, as freeholders extract considerable sums from leaseholders during the process of lease renewal.
Exorbitant lease renewal fees and spiralling ground rents have left leaseholders in England and Wales feeling increasingly exploited. 

This is 21st century and it’s absurd to follow an outdated feudal system.It’s  time for a change. 
 For example new  leases should be indefinite; ground rent should be abolished; all flats should be built with residents’ management companies, so the residents take control. We need to OWN our properties and get rid of the freeholders.

Mr. Michael Gove is said to want to phase out the leasehold system altogether. He wants to come up with a formula for establishing the value of freeholds and to take the responsibility of leaseholders to pay the legal fees of the freeholder. And Mr. Gove, we are waiting impatiently your return…

Sadly chief losers from these reforms if they do arrive will be the likes of the King and the Duke of Westminster and large landowners. 

 

There have been several leasehold reform Acts in more recent years, but as you can see below, they come very slowly and they need a big push, such as this petition.
Here is a timeline of leasehold reforms:

11th century: Agricultural labourers able to lease land for a fixed period.

12th century: First leasehold estates appeared.

1800s: Landlords began renting out land for fixed periods in return for a fee while retaining land ownership.

1920s: The start of the modern leasehold system with freeholders granting long leases to ensure a steady income.

1950s: Large numbers of flats were built around the UK, and since freehold properties require horizontal division or separate boundaries, they could only be classed as leasehold. Tenants had little protection once their leases ran out.

1960s: Leasehold Reform Act 1967 allowed tenants to extend a house lease by 90 years or buy their homes compulsorily from their landlords at a fair price for those deemed to be on low or moderately low rents.

1990s: The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gave qualifying leaseholders the ability to purchase the freehold so long as a number of criteria are met, including that at least 50% of the total number of flats within the building want to buy the freehold.

2000s: The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 introduced the idea of commonhold tenure whereby flats within a block are owned as a freehold and communal areas such as stairs, corridors and outside areas are owned by a commonhold association. The concept has yet to take off.

During 2000s, legislation passed by the Scottish parliament, effectively abolished the traditional leasehold model of ownership to an end,

2020s: The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill. 

Please sign. 

 

 

 

 

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