Confusion around Leasehold Freehold Reform Act?

Does anyone know if the option to reduce your ground rent to a peppercorn by extending your lease to 990 years has been removed? This is on an existing flats.
I can see mention of the 990 year lease extension but not clear if it comes with any change to ground rent.
I’m looking for a way of reducing my ground rent. Freeholder will not negotiate.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 29/05/2024 – 11:58
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/leasehold-reforms-become-law

As a matter of common sense, which is not an asset of .gov, who are you going to make redress against if all of you are joint Freeholder’s?

It could be argued that you as leaseholder are redressing against the Freehold in unison, given the situation that you can not get private redress amongst your peers.

But yes, this is just another .gov programme to increase the size of .gov so they can have more say in what you do or don’t and what you “own”.

The only things you can truly “own” in this world are physical (or digital) objects that are not required to be registered to the state.

For the rest, you are merely a tenant in fee simple.

Reply to the comment left by howdidigethere at 29/05/2024 – 16:29
One of the reasons Leaseholders jointly purchase the freehold of their building is so that they could chose not to collect the Ground Rents and when it came to extending leases there was no marriage value and the opportunity to reduce Ground Rents to a peppercorn.

They could also chose to self manage the building or pay a management agent to do it.

It usually is Civil Servants who draft legislation, lol, say no more. But the redress scheme for leaseholders who are also collectively joint freeholders is a really stupid idea. But then they are always the odd litigious person around but they will have to part fund a defence for themselves as a joint freeholder !

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 29/05/2024 – 11:58
The peppercorn ground rent was never in the original bill and was to be added during the readings stages. But then the election was declared and the legislation was rushed through.

What you do have is 990 year leases, no marriage value for leases under 80 years, and freeloaders having to pay their own over- inflated legals and valuation fees. These measures alone should virtually halve the cost of lease extensions under 80 years dependent upon the government setting deferment rates that support this.

Freeholders only negotiate at the point of a gun. To get your ground rent down you will probably need to extend your lease at which point it becomes a peppercorn.

Be aware that although the Act has received Royal Assent, it has not yet been implemented- that will be for a future government to do. There are no timescales for this.

Reply to the comment left by Fed Up Landlord at 30/05/2024 – 10:06So it sounds like you are saying (third paragraph) that with a lease extension to 990 years, the peppercorn ground rent IS included. That would be great news if true and what I have been trying to find out.
I’m very happy to solve this by getting a lease extension if it comes with a peppercorn ground rent.

Presently lease extension involves:
1. Leaseholders legal fees
2. Freeholder’s legal fees
3. Valuation fees
4. Marriage value

So the removal of liability for Freeholder’s legal fees and for Marriage value & related Valuation fees should mean that only Leaseholders legal fees still require to be paid.

That seems like progress, if I have understood it correctly?

Hi does anyone understand what this bill means for landlords who own freeholds and the implications they will now have? And how to deal with lease extensions or selling the freeholds , thanks