Ground Rent Scandal
Posted in Conveyancing on 6th Jan 2022
The Snowball Effect for Leaseholders
Consumer group Which? released a damning report on new-build leaseholds and revealed that some developers include doubling ground rent clauses in sales contracts. These may be onerous if they are reviewed on a regular basis, such as every 5 to 10 years. Although the charge may sound minimal when a homeowner first takes ownership of the lease, a doubling clause may result in a considerable amount later down the line. As a result, banks may refuse to lend on such property, trapping owners in a home they cannot...
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill:...
Posted in Conveyancing on 1st Sep 2021
On 13 May 2021 the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill was published by the government.
The proposed law was drawn up to reform the law surrounding leasehold properties and specifically the issue of onerous ground rent clauses.
If the bill becomes law, it will ban freeholders from charging ground rent to leaseholders in some new leasehold agreements, such as newly built residential properties.
If you are not familiar with the term ‘Ground Rent’, this is a charge contained within a lease that is payable by the leaseholder to the freeholder. Ground...
“Marriage Value” and the 80-year cut off...
Posted in Conveyancing on 24th Aug 2021
What is 'Marriage Vale'
Marriage Value is the monetary increase in the value of a residential leasehold property following an extension of the lease. It makes sense that a lease extension will result in an increase in the value of the leaseholder’s interest. The more years left on the leasehold, the longer a leaseholder can inhabit the demised premises, the more valuable the leaseholder’s interest. It is also true that the value of the landlord’s own interest will fall, since the landlord will not enjoy use of the demised premises for longer.
However,...
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