News and Articles

Ministerial Statement on Reforms

21/11/2024

We have today heard from the Government on the leasehold, freehold and commonhold reforms, for the first time since the King’s Speech. The lengthy statement sets out the Government’s very robust plans to progress not just the existing reforms, but also extending the reforms further to include other matters, such as potential regulation of managing agents and overhauling the major works consultation process. The statement also sets out a timetable and confirms that there will be consultations to come. The full statement can be read here.

Welcome to Dr Georgina Bensted!

05/11/2024

We are hugely excited to welcome Dr Georgina Bensted to our team today. Georgina joins us as a litigation paralegal working with the team in Wales. Georgina has a long career in Welsh politics but has previously trained in law.  

LFRA & building safety commencement

31/10/2024

Today heralds the second tranche of clauses to commence in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Sections 114 (steps relating to remediation of defects), 115 (remediation orders), 116 (remediation contribution orders) and 120 (interpretation of definitions for these provisions) all commence today, and relate to the Building Safety Act. No update yet on commencement of the remainder of LFRA.

ALEP Conference 2024

15/10/2024

The annual Association for Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners conference was today, at which both Mari Knowles and Matt Lewis spoke at. Mari took the delegates through the basics and future of commonhold, with emphasis on key points for enfranchisement lawyers and valuers. Matt reviewed the right of first refusal, in light of the increase in the number of freeholders looking to sell their reversions.

BBC Radio Oxford & leasehold

10/10/2024

We are delighted to have appeared on BBC Radio Oxford this morning to discuss the thorny issue of major works. A reader set out various issues with a block of flats and major works, to which we provided responses to live on air. This was a particular problem some, but not uncommon issue.

LMP Conference 2024

02/10/2024

The annual Leasehold Management Professionals conference took place today, designed for managing agents. The conference was very well attended and had some interesting content such as building safety and resident-owned or managed buildings.

Welcome to Victoria!

01/10/2024

We are delighted to welcome Victoria to our team in Wales! Victoria joins the firm as a litigation solicitor, bringing with her a wealth of experience in landlord and tenant disputes in particular. Victoria is also experienced in residential conveyancing. We look forward to working with Victoria! 

Renters Rights Bill & Ground Rent relief

13/09/2024

This week saw the first reading of the Renters Rights Bill. In addition to bringing welcome relief for tenants who fear “no fault” evictions, the RRB also reintroduces the closing of the “Housing Act ground rent trap” feared by many leaseholders and their conveyancers. The Housing Act trap is a complex ground rent muddle which can make selling difficult in cases where the ground rent exceeds either £250 outside of Greater London or £1,000 inside of Greater London due to repossession rights of the landlord in these cases. Section 30 of the RRB proposes to close this loophole which will no doubt bring welcome relief to those with onerous ground rents and to the conveyancing industry.

Conference season

30/08/2024

Our team are off on tour this Autumn speaking at various industry events on a range of subject matter. Catch our team here:

10^th September Manchester – complex leasehold conveyancing conference

17^th September London – complex leasehold conveyancing conference

19^th September Bournemouth – property conference

1^st October London – enfranchisement conference

2^nd October London – Leasehold Management Professionals conference

15^th October London – ALEP Annual conference

7^th November Bournemouth – Bournemouth Law Society

12^th November online – virtual shared ownership conference

Please contact us for booking details for any of these events.

Selling with an "onerous" ground rent

29/08/2024

A News on the Block reader posted a question about difficulties selling a property with onerous ground rents. See our reply to the reader here.

We are back!

27/08/2024

After a restful week off, we are back up and running for what promises to be a busy Autumn for the firm and for the industry. We will be posting a list of our various speaking engagements coming up in the next few months shortly. We thank you for your patience whilst our team took a well-earned break!

Annual summer break

10/08/2024

Our offices will be closed for a week commencing on Monday 19 August and re-opening on Tuesday 27 August. During the week of the office closure, emails and the telephone will not be monitored. In the case of an emergency, please email advice@commonlease.co.uk. Any emails sent to this address that are not urgent will be dealt with when the office re-opens. We thank you for your patience and understanding.  

Property Law Conference

01/08/2024

Matt will be speaking at the Bournemouth Law Society’s annual property law conference this Autumn. Matt will be speaking on the topic of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and the key points for residential conveyancers together with practical tips. Details of the event can be found here.

The Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill

17/07/2024

The ink is barely dry on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and we now have confirmation that the “Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill” will be released in draft form at some point in this Parliamentary session. The briefing pack suggests that the bill will include the manifesto-promised ban on the sale of leasehold flats, further ground rent work, forfeiture and full implementation of the Law Commission recommendations on right to manage and enfranchisement. The full briefing note can be found here.

Welcome to Karen!

15/07/2024

We are delighted to welcome Karen Muir to our team today. Karen is an excellent transactional paralegal, having worked closely with Mari, Matt and Jeremy on opposite sides of transactions over the years. Karen will be working remotely from her home in Devon and is a very welcome addition to the CLE team!  

The reforms: here we go again!

08/07/2024

After a snap election was called last month, we now have a new Government. The manifesto of the new Government set out clear plans to progress yet more reforms in the commonhold and leasehold space. Read our article written for News on the Block of what might happen next. The full article can be read here.

LMP strikes again!

27/06/2024

The Leasehold Management Professionals hosted two packed events for managing agents this month – one in Brighton and the other in Bournemouth. Both events were very well attended and included speakers from The Property Institute and barristers Rebecca Cattermole and Justin Bates. Mari Knowles also spoke, Following the success of the events, LMP has confirmed that they will be hosting their first event in London this year on 02 October. Watch this space for more information.

Legal costs and lease extensions

24/06/2024

We are pleased to have helped News on the Block with one of their reader questions this month, on the topic of landlord’s legal costs and lease extensions, Read the full article here.

Final call for conveyancers!

18/06/2024

Mari will be hosting the MBL Seminars “complex leasehold conveyancing” for residential conveyancers in central London next week. The course will cover the trickier aspects of leasehold conveyancing, including latest changes to building and fire safety, handling leasehold disputes during a conveyance, the key changes for conveyancers following LFRA 2024, and the LPE1 pack.   

Shared ownership and LFRA 2024 update

28/05/2024

For shared ownership leaseholders, please check our update on Shared Ownership Resources for information about the impact of Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on shared ownership properties. The link to the website can be found here.

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024

24/05/2024

Following a fiery week in politics, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill received Royal Assent today in an unexpected turn of events. Various amendments have been made to the final version of the Bill, now Act, and it will take a few days for the final version to be updated before we can see the final product.

In terms of next steps, the Act will now need to be commenced. A very small number of sections will commence two months from today, but otherwise, the remainder of the Act will need to be formally commenced via secondary legislation. The Government will decide if and when to switch on the Act, and which may not necessarily all be at the same time.

Furthermore, key policies contained within the Act will require secondary legislation setting out further detail on the headline policy before they can commence.  

Given the election, it is unlikely that we will now see any substantial movement on the Act in terms of commencement until the Autumn.

If you are an existing or prospective client of ours, we will be writing to you next week with an update once we have had time to review the final version of the Act.

General Election called! But whatabout the LFR Bill?

23/05/2024

A General Election has been called for 04 July 2024. Whilst there is significant discussion about the Election itself, what happens to all of the legislation that was working through Parliament? Importantly, this includes the Renters Reform Bill and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, both of which the current Government committed to during the last election in 2019.  

Between now and tomorrow afternoon (Friday 24 May), which is when the pre-election period commences, we enter a period called “Wash Up”. During “Wash Up”, a decision must be made on all outstanding bills. The bills will either be pushed through to conclusion and be given Royal Assent or they will simply fall by the wayside. In the latter scenario, the bills may never become law unless the next Government decides to adopt it. If adopted, the next Government could push the bills through as currently drafted, amend it or start again. Nothing is guaranteed in this scenario.  

At the time of writing, there are four working days left of “Wash Up”. The next four working days will therefore be make or break for the bills, and in particular our two ground-breaking industry bills.

We are on BBC Moneybox!

24/04/2024

We are thrilled to have been invited onto the BBC Moneybox show today as panellists for their “What’s going on with leasehold?” show, joining Chair of the Leasehold Advisory Service and Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, Martin Boyd. The show featured some tricky topics on marriage value, ground rents and service charge transparency. The show is available to download here.

Live on NOTB!

20/04/2024

We have joined the News on the Block professional directory today, which already hosts many other industry professionals. We are delighted to join our esteemed colleagues! Our profile can be found here.

New office in Poole!

19/04/2024

We are excited to announce the launch of our new office in Poole, headed by Matt Lewis. The launch follows a successful recruitment campaign in the Autumn and to accommodate our growing team. Please visit our expert profiles for more information on who is who!