Propertymark is urging the government to speed up leasehold reform, following research indicating that 93% of leaseholders would not buy another leasehold property. A survey conducted by the organisation, involving over 1,200 leaseholders and 200 Propertymark members, revealed that 86% of leaseholders had experienced service charge increases in the last two years.
The survey also found that 89% of leaseholders considered challenging unfair service charges to be difficult. Furthermore, more than 78% of estate agents had removed at least one leasehold property from the market because it was unsellable, with 74% identifying onerous service charges as a significant barrier to selling flats.
Timothy Douglas, Propertymark's head of policy and campaigns, stated that homeowners are still navigating a system that can make their homes difficult, expensive, and sometimes impossible to sell. He added that while the move towards commonhold is welcome, existing leaseholders should not have to wait decades for change. Propertymark members reported annual service charges rising from approximately £1,000-£2,000 to between £3,000-£4,000, leading to affordability and remortgaging issues.
Propertymark is advocating for the proposed 40-year transition for reducing ground rents to a peppercorn to be brought forward. The organisation also seeks standardised leases, stronger redress mechanisms for service charges, an online database of lease terms, simpler building safety remediation rules, clearer responsibility for costs, and consideration of financial support for leaseholders aiming to buy their freehold and transition to commonhold.