News story

Danger of too many laws confusing leaseholders

Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger reflected on the risks of too much legislation being introduced too quickly and all too often poorly drafted by over-pressed civil servants when he spoke at the annual conference of the Leasehold Advisory service (LEASE).

He told an audience of property lawyers, managers, freeholders and leaseholders that this leads to cobbled, last-minute amendments and then the judiciary is then called upon to work out what was meant and intended, thus effectively becoming legislators.

His comments were in tune with the conference delegates majority view – expressed several times during the day – that the law on residential leasehold should be consolidated and simplified. Delegates also felt, overwhelmingly on a show of hands, that there is little chance of the present government finding time to act on this in the foreseeable future.

The most recent primary legislation, the 2002 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act, sought to provide an alternative to leasehold with commonhold, with necessary reforms particularly to the management of residential leasehold property In practice, take-up of commonhold has been disappointing and leasehold is what some 3 million people live with in an estimated 1.6 million leasehold flats and houses in England and Wales.

Progressive leasehold reform over nearly 60 years has involved a dozen laws and has focused on resolving issues by increasing leaseholder rights. This in turn has been a catalyst for improving management standards by freeholders, said Hugh Seaborn, chief executive of the Cadogan estate, who also spoke at the conference. Commercial interests and changing demographics would, suggested Mr Seaborn, eventually have had the same effect, albeit far more slowly, he contended.

However, for many of people living in leasehold property, such improvements cannot come fast enough. Over 25,000 of them contacted the Leasehold Advisory service for free legal advices on issues ranging from excessive service charge demands to their rights to self manage buildngs and to extend leases. This demand for help in understanding the law and the many amendments to them, cobbled or otherwise, shows no signs of abating.

Find LEASE (The Leasehold Advisory Service) at www.lease-advice.org, or call them on 020 7354 5380.

(News story added: 26 May 2010)