Minister's pledge to abolish 'feudal, unfair' leaseholds

The housing minister has promised to abolish the centuries-old leasehold system in England and Wales before the end of this parliament as the government takes the next steps towards an outright ban on new leasehold developments.

- Kiran Stacey

Matthew Pennycook said he was committed to ending the feudal-era system, which applies to 5m homes in England, after years of complaints from leaseholders about crippling service charges and crumbling buildings.

With some leaseholders complaining about the slow pace of action by this government, ministers will today lay out plans to make it easier for homeowners to jointly own the buildings they live in. The commonhold white paper will form the basis of a draft leasehold reform bill likely to include a ban on developers selling new flats under the system.

Pennycook said: "If I had said to any leaseholder five, 10 years ago that in a single parliament the government is going to bring the system to an end, I think any of them would have said that is incredibly ambitious, incredibly radical.

"When we get it done, it will have lasting, generational impact in overhauling a system which is a feudal right. Freehold was used in the Domesday Book, you know. The concept of leasing goes back to serfs being able to work a plot of land.