Two important items of legislation relating to the property market which the Government had promised to introduce have met with different outcomes. Here Maunder Taylor, who operate an estate agency covering Totteridge, Whetstone and the surrounding area, provide the latest updates on two Bills – The Renters’ Reform Bill and the Leasehold Reform Bill.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill
This Bill was one of the few law changes that made it through the ‘wash-up’ in Parliament before the announcement of the impending General Election. The ‘wash-up’ period in question was just over a week – the length of time the House of Commons continued to sit (and enact legislation) after the election date of 4th July had been announced.
A ban on leaseholds for new houses will become law, as well as extending the standard lease term to 990 years. However, a controversial cap on ground rent was left out. For a full breakdown of the original provisions of the Bill, check out our previous blog here.
The bill was championed by Housing Secretary Michael Gove, pictured, who later announced he is standing down as an MP at the election. So, the future of any omitted clauses in the bill remains unclear, because there will be a new Secretary of State after the election – whatever political party they belong to. Any Public Bills cannot be carried over from one parliament to the next in the same way that they can be carried over from one session to the next within the lifetime of a parliament.
The Renters’ Reform Bill
This Bill failed to make it through the ‘wash-up’ session, along with many other flagship Conservative policies (including the ban on smoking for younger people, and the Football Governance Bill). The original Bill’s headline clause was the ban on Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions; however, it also included a number of other proposals, including extending the Decent Homes Standard to private rented accommodation, a section on giving renters with pets greater rights, and a new online property portal which would set out landlords’ legal obligations more clearly. For full details of the original proposals, check out our previous blog post here.
The Government said a number of proposed amendments from crossbench (independent) peers in the House of Lords meant there wasn’t time to debate the Bill properly. Again, the future of this Bill remains uncertain. The Labour Party has said that it would have supported the legislation as it stood, although it wanted to add amendments of its own.
Maunder Taylor – an Estate Agency in North London
As well as selling commercial and residential properties, Maunder Taylor offer a number of other services. These range from residential block management, to lease renewals advice, to property valuation surveys – in Potters Bar, Whetstone, and other parts of north London and Hertfordshire.
For more information follow this link and fill in the online form, or call us on either 020 8446 0011, or 01707 665 666 (the latter number is for residential block management enquiries only).