Over the last 40 years leasehold reform acts have experienced several revisions. Since their inception back in 1884 to the most recent review in 2002, leaseholder's rights have enabled more people to extend leases and buy the freehold for their property. Our timeline outlines the changes to the leasehold reform act.
Initial discussions about acquiring the rights to the freehold first came about in 1884, when the Royal Commission on The Housing of the Working Classes questioned whether granting rights would improve quality of living for those in such properties. Despite the subject being debated it wasn't until 1948 that the subject was officially recommended.
No actual legislation was passed following the recommendations in 1948 until the official Leasehold Reform Act 1967, 19 years later. The 1967 Act allowed homeowners with long leases to purchase the freehold, or acquire a 50 year lease extension. The introduction on the Act included numerous qualification criteria.
Flat and maisonette owners were awarded more rights in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, after they were omitted completely from the Leasehold Reform Act in 1967. This revision established rights for flat owners to acquire the freehold for their building. Flat owners were also given the right for first refusal should the freeholder wish to sell the freehold on, this meant leaseholders could purchase against successful bids.
Residential flat owners were the main winners from the 1993 Act, which saw a major change in legislation laws. The Act, which faced heavy opposition during discussions, introduced the right for flat owners to extend leases by 90 years on top of their existing unexpired lease at peppercorn ground rent – which essentially meant the rent for leases was nil. Some rules and restrictions were introduced alongside the new law, including a qualifying period and an agreement level of owners who wish to apply to buy the freehold.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 at 11:30 am	and is filed under Lease extensions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.