New measures have recently been announced by Nationwide Building Society with an aim to protect homebuyers from unfair leasehold terms.
Commenting on the soon to be implemented conditions was Director of Delivery at the Conveyancing Association, Beth Rudolf, who stated:
“The CA are very supportive of any initiative which will curb the current inequalities between landlord and leaseholder. Unambiguous instructions within the CML Lender’s Handbook will ensure there is no blight on existing ‘good’ leases, while consumers are protected from the sharp practices of some developers and landlords.
“We applaud Nationwide for delivering these leasehold policy changes and hope that other lenders will follow suit; this is particularly helpful while the Government is in a purdah situation and therefore unable to deal with the growing issues surrounding leasehold until post-General Election.
“The CA hopes MPs will be including leasehold reform within their election promises given how significant a local issue it is and that the new Government will ensure that Housing Minister, Garvin Barwell’s, promise at the end of last year to review leasehold, does not fall by the wayside, given the significant concerns from the industry, consumers and MPs.
“Leasehold needs complete reform to reflect a modern approach to the tenure of shared amenity properties and to bring fairness to the homeowner, while reducing delays and costs in the home moving process.”
Leasehold reform is one of the CA’s work streams within its Strategic Plan to modernise the home moving process. It recently published a guide for consumers on leasehold property, specifically outlining the fees and charges that may be payable to a Lease Administrator.
The guide entitled, ‘Leaseholder Guide to Lease Administration Fees’, is available from the ‘Featured Downloads’ section on the CA website home page: www.conveyancingassociation.org.uk
