I’m one of the lucky ones. The daughter of a cabinet maker and dance teacher from east London, my parents got on the property ladder in the 80s and I always believed owning a home was achievable.
But after working as an actress, scuba diving instructor and who knows how many zero-hour contract jobs in precarious industries, as I entered my 30s, it was seeming less and less likely.
Then the pandemic hit. I moved back in with my mum at 33 – it wasn’t in my plan! I worked remotely throughout the next two years, saving everything I could to get a deposit together.
I was so proud to move into my own flat in Romford in March 2022.
But it quickly went wrong. I soon found out we were living in a botched conversion, with a range of problems, not least with our roof. What’s worse, neither our freeholder nor our managing agent seemed at all concerned with our issues.
In January 2023, after months of unsuccessfully negotiating with them to claim the repairs for the roof from the new build warranty or the builders who botched it, we applied to the first-tier tribunal (FTT) to challenge the reasonableness of our service charges.
We didn’t use a solicitor, but provided examples of more reasonable quotes for the works completed, and proof that we were being charged for works not completed. We also successfully challenged the cost of the buildings insurance, which was reduced by half.
While tribunal challenges are stressful and not everyone has the capacity to take them on, we launched another one in January 2024, again, largely successfully. We then decided to apply for a ‘court-appointed manager’, the only way we could end the cycle of FTT challenges every year.
However, our situation changed when Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook suddenly announced he was accelerating long-awaited Right to Manage (RTM) reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LAFRA), legislation passed but not enacted by the previous Government. These reforms will make it easier for us to hire and fire managing agents if they fail to meet our needs.
My flat is one of six, above a shop. Under previous laws, blocks with more than 25% of commercial space do not qualify for RTM, which ours didn’t with 33%, leaving us completely under the rule of the managing agent and freeholder. However, with the limit now lifted to 50%, we will qualify for RTM from 3rd March.
The road ahead won’t be easy. Forming an RTM company requires the support of 50% of all leaseholders. This threshold can be especially problematic in larger buildings, and Labour should reduce it in future legislation.
The freeholder can also play games with a counter notice, although there should be specific reasons for them to issue this. Our freeholder chooses to challenge nearly every RTM and drag everyone through the FTT for further months and sometimes up to the Court of Appeal, taking years and costing everyone a lot of money.
Previously, leaseholders had to pay the freeholder’s costs as well as their own as part of the RTM process, but thanks to the reforms coming into place today, we will also no longer have to pay these.
If no counter notice is served, we could self-manage or appoint our own agent to look after the building by mid-July.
RTM is not the answer though. My freeholder will still be the ultimate owner and hold certain rights, with continued (and often obstructive) involvement in the sales process.
Our goal is to enfranchise, which is where leaseholders buy out the freehold of their block. This arrangement is similar to commonhold, giving rightful control to flat owners over their homes and money. Labour has committed to “finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end” and introduce commonhold as a default tenure.
Unfortunately, a group of freeholders has been given permission to challenge parts of LAFRA at the High Court, claiming human rights infringements. But, despite their predictable opposition, the government has a mandate to hold firm, having been elected on a manifesto to free leaseholders from this oppressive system of perceived home ownership not widely practiced elsewhere in the world.
The government has pledged a white paper on commonhold imminently and a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to come forward towards the end of the year. With extensive policy work already done by the Law Commission half a decade ago and many consultations since, I and other leaseholders are tired of being cash cows and cannot wait another four to five years for an end to this scandal.
Being a leaseholder has damaged my mental health and finances. It has been the worst experience of my life. I can’t sell my own “home”, I can’t rent it out, I’m totally trapped it, and I don’t even really own it. I can’t move on with my life.
The tribunal and ombudsman are overwhelmed with disputes, not especially powerful and are symptoms of the leasehold cause. Abolishing leasehold will mean flat owners are not tied to predatory managing agents and freeholders.
There are 5.3 million leaseholders in England and Wales, many trapped in the same ways, and worse, than I am. Phasing out leasehold for commonhold will show Labour at its best, disrupting vested interests to change the system in favour of working people. If we don’t prioritise this, leaseholders – many of whom are our core voters – will continue to be defrauded in their own homes and grow even more disillusioned with politics.