The government has announced that from January, leaseholders will have the right to buy their freehold or extend their lease without having to wait two years from when they bought the property. Partner Daniel Broughton examines what this and other reforms the government has promised to accelerate this year mean for leaseholders. At the end of last year, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed the government’s plans for implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (“LAFRA”). In a formal written statement, he promised to “balance speed with care if we are to ensure that the measures brought into force are to the lasting benefit of leaseholders and residential freeholders”. Two-year rule and leaseholder rights One of the main provisions under LAFRA is section 27, which will remove the two-year ownership rule before a leaseholder can extend their lease or buy the freehold of a long leasehold house. Although Matthew Pennycook said this would come into force i...
