MHCLG and Homes England have asked The NSG to get in touch with you to ask if you would assist in highlighting an important consultation that government published on Friday 4th July. It is titled ‘Strengthening leaseholder protections on charges and services’ and includes proposals seeking to hold landlords and managing agents more to account.
The consultation is in two parts. The first focuses on details required to implement measures from Part 4 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. This includes seeking views on the detail to implement measures on:
Better service charge transparency, including new standardised service charge demand forms, annual reports, service charge accounts and administration charges;
Improving buildings insurance transparency, including what information should be provided to leaseholders, so they have assurance they are getting fair value and are better able to challenge any unreasonable insurance charges; and
Rebalancing the litigation costs regime and removing barriers for leaseholders to challenge their landlord.
MHCLG will implement these new measures as soon as possible and the consultation seeks to make sure that they work in practice, are proportionate and bring lasting benefit to leaseholders.
The second part of the consultation focuses on potential new reforms. MHCLG have been clear that the 2024 Act did not go far enough and we need to go further to help existing leaseholders. In particular, it seeks views on:
Reforming the Section 20 ‘major works’ procedure that leaseholders must go through when they face large bills for such works;
Considering the case for greater protections for leaseholders paying fixed service charges, protections for client money, or improvements to the process for appointing a manager in cases of serious management failure (the “Section 24 process”).
Opportunities to encourage the provision of information and services digitally to be more accessible and reduce costs, but also ensuring safeguards so that all leaseholders receive the information they need; and
Introducing mandatory qualifications for managing agents to ensure that all agents have the knowledge and skills they need to provide a good service for leaseholders
Alongside the consultation, MHCLG have also published an ‘executive summary’ which you will find helpful in setting out what the MHCLG are consulting on and an overview of the proposals on which they are seeking views. The consultation and executive summary is available at:
The consultation will close on Friday 26 September.