Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022

خلاصہ

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 is the first stage of the Government's programme to reform leasehold tenure in England and Wales. It addresses the 'leasehold scandal' in which developers sold long leases with ground rents that doubled every 10 years or were linked to RPI, creating onerous obligations and making affected properties difficult to sell or mortgage. The Act prohibits landlords from charging a 'prohibited rent' under most new long residential leases granted on or after 30 June 2022 — the permitted rent is limited to a peppercorn (zero financial value). A landlord who demands or accepts a prohibited rent is liable to a financial penalty of between £500 and £30,000, enforceable by local trading standards. The Act is expressly not retrospective: existing leases with escalating ground rents are not directly affected, though leaseholders with such leases may seek enfranchisement or lease extension under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The Act was followed by further reform in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which made enfranchisement easier and cheaper and reformed the relationship between landlord and leaseholder more broadly.

اہم نکات

• Section 3: the only rent permitted under a regulated lease is a peppercorn rent (i.e. a rent of no monetary value); any provision requiring payment of a ground rent of financial value in a new regulated lease is ineffective
• Section 2: a 'regulated lease' is a long residential lease (over 21 years) of a single dwelling granted on or after 30 June 2022; excepted leases include business leases, community housing leases, home finance plan leases, and statutory lease extensions under the LRH&UD Act 1993
• Section 4: any sum paid as a prohibited rent must be repaid to the tenant; the obligation to repay arises automatically and does not require a court order
• Section 7: enforcement — a landlord who demands or accepts a prohibited rent is liable for a financial penalty imposed by the relevant local weights and measures authority; the penalty is between £500 and £30,000 per breach
• Section 8: right of appeal — a landlord may appeal against a financial penalty to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
• Does not apply retrospectively — existing long leases granted before 30 June 2022 are unaffected; leaseholders with problematic ground rent terms must use enfranchisement or lease extension rights

حصے اور دفعات

ترامیم کی تاریخ