Have your say on the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill

Aims of the Bill

The Bill applies to England and Wales. Its provisions, once in force, will restrict ground rents on newly created long residential leases (with some exceptions—see below) to a token one peppercorn per year. This effectively restricts ground rents to zero financial value. The intention is to make leasehold ownership fairer and more affordable for leaseholders.

The Bill makes exceptions for a small number of types of leases: business leases, statutory lease extensions of houses and flats, community led housing and home finance plan leases (either a type of equity release financial product known as a Home Reversion Plan or a rent to buy arrangement). Rent may continue to be charged on the landlord’s share of shared ownership leases, and where it is agreed on leases replacing pre-commencement leases on the remaining term of the pre-commencement lease (known as voluntary lease extensions).

The Bill places a duty on local weights and measures authorities (trading standards authorities) in England and Wales to enforce the Bill.

A breach of the ground rent restriction will be a civil offence for which enforcement authorities can impose a financial penalty of between £500 and £30,000. The money raised through financial penalties may be kept by authorities to fund their enforcement activities. They will also have the power to order the repayment of any unlawfully charged ground rent, plus interest, to leaseholders.

The Bill also prohibits the charging of administration charges in relation to peppercorn rents and makes provision for leaseholders to recover unlawfully charged ground rents through the First-tier Tribunal in England or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales.

If enacted, the main provisions of the Act will come into force on a date to be specified by the relevant Secretary of State. But for retirement home leases (a lease relating to a dwelling that can only be occupied by people aged 55 or over), the Act’s provisions must commence no earlier than 1 April 2023. This is intended to give the retirement sector, where ground rents are often used to help fund the additional costs of providing communal spaces and facilities, additional time to transition.

The Bill, together with its Explanatory Notes, Impact Assessment and an overview of its parliamentary progress, is available on the Bill page.

Follow the progress of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 12 May 2021. The Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 15 September 2021. Second reading took place on 29 November 2021.

• Bills before Parliament: Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL] 
• Read Explanatory Notes: Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]-22 
• House of Commons Library Briefing Paper

There will be no oral evidence sessions.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

Deadline for written evidence submissions

The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration and possibly reflect it in an amendment. The order in which amendments are taken in Committee will be available in due course under Selection of Amendments on the Bill documents pages. Once the Committee has dealt with an amendment it will not revisit it.

The first sitting of the Public Bill Committee is expected to be on Tuesday 7 December and the Committee is scheduled to report by Thursday 9 December. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Thursday 9 December. You are strongly advised to submit your written evidence as soon as possible.

Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk

Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be found here.

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