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08/01/2024
Last call for our first “in person” course of the year, being held at London Bridge on Thursday. The course will cover a long list of topics, with emphasis on the changing landscape and new issues for enfranchisement lawyers to consider. It also includes a session on building and fire safety basics for enfranchisement lawyers. There are still a few places left, but tickets are on a first come first served basis.
02/01/2024
We are back! After a short break, we are pleased to back and looking forward to the year ahead. With the reforms bubbling away in the background, together with some exciting plans for the business, it is going to be a busy year!
19/12/2023
We will be closing our office from 4pm on Friday 22 December, re-opening at 10am on Tuesday 02 December. Please contact advice@commonlease.co.uk for emergencies. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
17/12/2023
We are delighted to have been asked to speak again at next year’s Leasehold London 2024. We will be teaming up with Rebecca Cattermole, barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, to bring delegates a session on managing resident-owned or managed buildings. The session will be particularly useful for any leaseholders who are directors of RMCs (resident management companies). For more information on the conference, please see here.
08/12/2023
The deadline for responding to the ground rent consultation has now been extended to 17 January 2024. By way of reminder, the consultation can be found here.
06/12/2023
The ground rent consultation page has now been updated to include the impact assessment for the Government’s consultation. The impact assessment explains key information on the proposals including relevant data. The impact assessment can be found here.
27/11/2023
The long-awaited and highly anticipated draft legislation is here! The bill has been released in full, and has had the first reading today. The bill is a lengthy document and seeks to cover four major areas: enfranchisement, right to manage & ground rents, service charges and freehold estates. There is no date yet for the second reading. The bill can be read in full here.
09/11/2023
Following the King’s Speech, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has released a consultation on options for capping ground rent in existing leases. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 22 December 2023. The consultation can be read in full here.
07/11/2023
The King’s Speech today confirmed that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the new Parliamentary session. The King’s Speech was immediately followed by a briefing pack which released “headline” content for the draft Bill. Until the draft Bill is released in full, it will not be clear how the headlines will be implemented. The briefing pack to the King’s Speech can be found here.
03/11/2023
The Competition and Markets Authority has released an update today as part of their investigation into freehold estate charges payable by freehold home owners towards the upkeep of the communal areas. The CMA is currently exploring options and has invited comment from stakeholders by 24 November 2023. The CMA's update can be found here with the case page here. The Department of Levelling Up and Communities has issued an updated advice page for those paying freehold estate charges here.
30/10/2023
The Government has issued a press release confirming the signing of a "pledge" with key insurance providers in respect of commissions on multi-unit buildings. This follows the publication of the FCA's final report a few weeks back. The full press release can be found here.
28/10/2023
We are delighted to launch our recruitment campaign for a paralegal or junior solicitor! We are also welcoming applications from experienced commonhold, freehold or leasehold lawyers with their own case load and who are interested in a consultancy position. Read more for the full job specification and details on how to apply.
27/10/2023
The King’s Speech promises to bring the highly anticipated leasehold reform legislation on 07 November 2023. Matt Lewis has teamed up with News on the Block and will be hosting a free one-hour lunchtime webinar to go through the King’s Speech. The session will include a look at the next steps and some immediate considerations for those working in the industry. The webinar is suitable for all including landlord, leaseholders, managing agents, valuers and lawyers. Tickets are available on a first come first serve basis and can be booked here.
26/10/2023
The Levelling-Up and Regeneration bill, as it was, received Royal Assent today, meaning that the bill is now final. The commencement date of the Act is awaited. Importantly for enfranchisement lawyers and valuers, the final version of the bill included the clause needed to fix the “lease extension building safety trap”. Further, the clause applies retrospectively. The final version of the bill has not yet been released at the time of writing.
26/10/2023
The ECCTA received Royal Assent today. Whilst of no obvious impact for those in the landlord and tenant space, the Act introduces additional compliance for companies, including a requirement to verify identification and provide an email address going forward. It is anticipated that it will commence early next year, and will affect both existing and new companies. For lawyers advising leaseholders on collective enfranchisement or right to manage where companies need to be incorporated as part of the process, additional steps will need to be taken going forward.
24/10/2023
In what has been a busy week for legislation, the RRB has stolen the limelight in the press this week. The bill has been controversial since the beginning, with the primary object to abolish “no fault evictions”. Separately, a key clause in the bill, section 21, addresses a “trap” for long leaseholders who have high ground rents which can make it difficult for those affected to sell or remortgage without incur, in some cases, significant expense. The RRB has made headlines this week due to the delay in progressing the bill, which is bad news for leaseholders affected by the ground rent issue. The latest update confirms that the Bill Committee will be scrutinising the Bill by 5 December 2023. A motion has also been made to carry forward the Bill into the next Parliamentary session.
09/10/2023
The King’s Speech is less than a month away, and we will know once and for all if leasehold reform is going to happen during this Parliamentary term. Mari and her team have been delivering weekly sessions via MBL on a range of subject matter, designed for lawyers (including residential conveyancers), managing agents, valuers, landlords and tenants alike. Please visit the MBL website for a full list of our dedicated sessions to keep on top of the constantly changing landscape.
29/09/2023
The FCA released an update today in respect of insurance commissions payable on multi-unit buildings. From 2024, those responsible for placing insurance in such buildings will need to have regard for the leaseholders with emphasis on value and transparency. The new measures complement the work being undertaken by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in respect of insurance commissions. The full update can be found here.
22/09/2023
The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill took an unexpected turn this week when an amendment tackling the “lease extension and building safety trap” was approved in the House of Lords during the Third Reading yesterday. The wording does immediately pose questions as to whether or not it actually achieves the goal of closing the loophole created by the Building Safety Act 2022 for those extending their leases. A separate clause also seeks to amend the qualifying tenant boundaries for those with more than three units. The bill will now be passed back to the House of Commons for consideration of the amendments including the two leasehold amendments. Details can be found here.
19/09/2023
The regular APPG for leasehold reform was held yesterday in the Palace of Westminster. Matt Lewis was delighted to attend on behalf of Commonhold and Leasehold Experts Limited. The event was very well attended as always with fascinating speakers, especially during a time when leasehold is in the process of being reformed.
15/09/2023
Yesterday marked the “Leasehold Roadshow” Birmingham event which was very well attended as always. Matt Lewis was invited to host one of the workshops, on the topic of “commonhold vs leasehold” which led to a healthy debate with a couple of landlords in particular. For details of further roadshow events, please see here.
29/08/2023
We are absolutely delighted to confirm that Elin has been promoted to paralegal from legal assistant. Elin has worked hard over the last few years, working with both the litigation and residential conveyancing teams. The promotion is very well deserved and we look forward to seeing what Elin does next!
18/08/2023
Our offices are now closed for our summer break. We will be back on 29 August, fully refreshed and ready to go! In the case of an emergency, please contact advice@commonlease.co.uk.
14/08/2023
The House of Commons has updated the leasehold reform page to include a list of proposals for the legislation. This includes primarily changes to the enfranchisement laws, including valuation calculations to make it more cost effective for leaseholders. The full update can be found here.
02/08/2023
The team were delighted to recently assist the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners with the drafting of their commonhold pages on their website. The website is a source of information for their members, landlords and leaseholders. The updated commonhold pages can be found here.
