Damning Housing Committee Leasehold Report – No More Excuses – Get On With It Now

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLG) is urging the Government to accelerate legislation for Leasehold and Commonhold reform. Following its scrutiny of the draft reform bill, the Committee demands faster implementation of ground rent caps and stronger protections for existing leaseholders.

The report can be found by clicking here

The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) has welcomed this hard-hitting scrutiny report on the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill—but warned that millions of leaseholders cannot afford any further delay. We fully support this bill but agree with the scrutiny panel recommendations which will strengthen the bill ready for presentation to parliament. We strongly urge the government to go further and faster.

The report confirms what the NLC have been telling the government for an entire decade: the system is fundamentally unfair, deeply broken, and urgently in need of reform.

Catherine Williams, NLC co-founder, said:

“This report lays bare the reality —leasehold is a system that simply does not work for homeowners. The evidence is overwhelming, and it is backed up line by line in this report. The government now has no excuse to delay.”

Freeholder Arguments Torn Apart

The scrutiny panel delivers a clear verdict: many of the claims made by freeholders and investors do not stand up to scrutiny. The widely repeated argument that ground rent contributes to building maintenance or safety has been decisively dismantled.

Catherine Williams said:

“Ground rent does not pay for repairs. It does not pay for building safety. It is money taken for nothing. The panel has seen the evidence—and it simply doesn’t stack up.”

Even more damning, the report highlights evidence that ground rent income has been used to prop up service charge accounts—an admission that exposes how flawed and open to abuse the system has become.

Katie Kendrick, NLC founder, said:

“This system is indefensible—people paying for nothing, trapped in homes they can’t sell. The report proves it, and now the government must fix it—without delay, without excuses.”

The NLC supports calls to urgently strengthen the Bill to close these loopholes and end these practices for good.

‘Till Death Do Us Part’ Clause Must Go

While the NLC welcomes the proposed £250 ground rent cap, the report shines a spotlight on one of the most controversial elements of the Bill—the 40-year delay before ground rents are reduced to zero.

Catherine Williams said:

“A 40-year wait is effectively a ‘till death do us part’ clause. It tells leaseholders they will be paying for nothing for most of their adult lives. That cannot possibly be justified.”

The Committee has challenged the government to justify this delay or reduce it to 20 years.

“Even 20 years is a compromise, but it gives people some realistic hope of seeing change in their lifetime. Forty years does not.”

The government has made clear it wants sites to move to commonhold as soon as possible — but if the cost of doing so is effectively the equivalent of paying up to 40 years of ground rent, that is simply not acceptable. The National Leasehold Campaign does not agree with this approach. Why should landlords who invested speculatively, purely as a way of extracting profit, now be compensated beyond what they originally paid? Leaseholders should not be forced to buy back their own freedom at an inflated price. This must change.

Pension Fund Claims Exposed as Scaremongering

The report also cuts through repeated warnings that reform would damage pension funds.

Jo Darbyshire, NLC co-founder, said:

“We’ve heard this argument for years—that helping leaseholders would somehow harm pensioners. This report finally exposes that as scaremongering. The impact is minimal, and it should never have been used to justify inaction.”

“Just Get On With It” – Pressure Mounts on Government

The message from MPs is clear—and campaigners agree: there must be no more delay.

The Committee has called for the ground rent cap to come into force as early as 2027, rather than being pushed back further.

Katie Kendrick said:

“Leaseholders have waited years while their homes became unsellable and their futures uncertain. Every delay has real consequences. The message to the government is simple: just get on with it.”

The report also backs urgent action on the stalled implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including launching the long-awaited consultation on valuation rates.

Katie Kendrick added:

“People are being forced to put their lives on hold because the government hasn’t acted. Whether it’s extending a lease or buying a freehold, these are life decisions—and the delay is costing people dearly.”

Stronger Bill Needed – But No Excuse to Delay

While the Committee calls for key improvements—including adding missing Law Commission reforms and introducing a regulator for managing agents—the NLC warns this can not be used as an excuse to slow progress.

Catherine Williams said:

“We absolutely want the strongest possible Bill, including full Law Commission reforms and a regulator with real teeth. But leaseholders cannot be dragged into another cycle of delay. Reform must move forward now.”

End the Uncertainty

The report also highlights the need for a clear and transparent timeline — something leaseholders have repeatedly demanded.

Katie Kendrick said:

“Leaseholders have heard promises before. What they need now is certainty—a clear timetable for when these reforms will actually happen.”

Conclusion: No More Excuses

The NLC fully supports the Committee’s recommendations that the Ground Rent cap must come into force two months after Royal Assent, not at some unspecified future point determined by Ministers.  The same urgency must apply to the enfranchisement element of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act.

Jo Darbyshire said:

“This report leaves little room for doubt. The arguments for delay have been dismantled. The need for reform is undeniable. The pressure is now firmly on the government. The evidence is there, the cross-party support is there, and the case for reform is overwhelming. There are no more excuses left. Leaseholders have already waited years for reform, and their lives are quite literally on hold while they navigate unsellable homes, rising costs, and ongoing uncertainty.  They need clarity, certainty and action.  The law must set clear timelines so leaseholders know when relief is coming, rather than leaving them at the mercy of ministerial discretion”