Many people have contacted me in recent years about estate management fees, and I have been pushing hard for a change in the law. I have met with the Secretary of State and written to the Housing Minister on numerous occasions – including a joint letter together with other Kent MPs pressing for a change in the law.
I am delighted to be able to say that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has now passed through the House of Commons and will soon be making its way through the House of Lords.
The changes in the law will enhance the consumer rights of leaseholders by requiring greater transparency of service charges and rebalancing the legal costs regime – making it easier to challenge them.
Crucially, it will also extend the rights of residents on private and mixed tenure freehold estates by giving homeowners the same rights of redress as leaseholders to challenge costs and equivalent rights to transparency over their estate charges.
There is more information about the Bill on the Government’s website:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-the-leasehold-and-freehold-reform-bill