Campaigners demand urgent reform as leaseholders warned over financial risk

Leaseholders are being forced to gamble as campaigners urge the government to act now.

The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) says the latest figures on leasehold dwellings show leaseholders are facing a “cliff edge”.

The NLC is calling on the government to cap ground rent at £250 immediately, rather than waiting two years, and to accelerate the transition to commonhold.

Impossible position to be in

According to government figures, there were 4.8 million individual leases registered against more than four million households in England in 2023–24.

The average length remaining on all leases was 480 years, while the average remaining on the shortest leases was 458 years.

However, more than a quarter of a million households are now at or below the 80-year threshold.

The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) says this means around 10% of leasehold homes are in the 80-year “danger zone”.

Kaite Kendrick, co-founder of the NLC, said: “The 80-year trap is not theoretical, it is happening right now to hundreds of thousands. Leaseholders are being forced to gamble: act now and pay inflated costs, or wait and risk falling off a financial cliff edge. That is an impossible position to be in.

“The latest figures make clear that the trajectory of leasehold reform is not yet changing, and must do so urgently if they are going to end leasehold. What we are seeing is not a system in decline, but one that is persisting.”

Nothing has fundamentally changed

The figures also show that in London, 39% of homes are leasehold, while in the North West the figure is 30%, with 70% of those properties being houses.

The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) says this demonstrates that leasehold is not just a flat issue or a “London” issue, but one affecting families across the country.

Cath Williams, co-founder of the NLC, said: “Leasehold continues to have a stranglehold over our housing market. People’s lives are on hold; their homes are effectively controlled by a system they cannot escape from.

“Until these reforms are fully delivered, nothing has fundamentally changed for leaseholders.”

The NLC is urging the government to abolish marriage value and remove the 80-year cliff edge immediately, prioritising protections for existing leaseholders rather than just future buyers.

It is also calling for an accelerated transition to commonhold and for ground rents to be capped at £250 now, rather than in two years’ time.

Jo Darbyshire, co-founder of the NLC, said: “Leaseholders do not have the luxury of time. Every single day of delay more homes become unsellable, and more families are pushed closer to financial crisis.

“This is not just a policy issue, it is a national housing injustice hiding in plain sight. If the government is serious about ending this feudal system, then the pace, priority and direction of reform must change now. Leaseholders have waited long enough.”

Years of uncertainty

The news comes as an industry body has welcomed the government’s leasehold reform plans to phase out leasehold flats, but warned that existing leaseholders must be properly protected during the transition.

According to Propertymark, 94% of leaseholders regret buying a leasehold property, while 76% of property agents say leasehold flats are becoming harder to sell.

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Consumers have faced years of uncertainty and frustration with leasehold properties, from escalating charges to difficulties selling their homes.

“A move to commonhold has the potential to create a fairer, more transparent system that gives homeowners greater control and confidence.

“It’s important, however, that existing leaseholders are protected during the transition and that buyers fully understand how commonhold will work in practice.”