Ground rent charges will be banned on most new residential leases from 30 June, the government has announced.
From this date, landlords will be prohibited from charging ground rent to people buying a home on a new long lease. The government described the charges, which often increase yearly, as providing “no clear service in return”.
Some landlords have already started to reduce ground rent to zero for new buyers in preparation for the ban.
This measure is part of the Leasehold Reform Act which aims to make home ownership fairer and more transparent for leaseholders. Other changes include the new right for leaseholders to extend their leases to 990 years at zero ground rent and a requirement for housebuilders to stop doubling ground rent every year.
Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, leasehold minister, said: “This is an important milestone in our work to fix the leasehold system and to level up home ownership. Abolishing these unreasonable costs will make the dream of home ownership a more affordable reality for the next generation of home buyers.
“I welcome the move from many landlords who have already set ground rent on their new leases to zero and I urge others to follow suit ahead of this becoming law.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS