IMPORTANT NEW LAWS FOR HOUSE BUYERS, RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS COMING THIS YEAR
New rules will see ground rent banned and a potential ‘lifetime deposit’ come into force this year, giving tenants more rights against law-breaking landlords and excessively high charges in flats.
The laws - proposed to protect house buyers, tenants and homeowners - have been in the motions for several years, with the Queen’s speech referring to several changes under plans to crack down on people getting an unfair deal. It’s in addition to 95% mortgages in which the government backs loans taken out with Lloyds, Barclays and Santander and several more lenders. It comes alongside the extended stamp duty holiday which will now run until the end of June.
Currently, millions of householders in England own their homes on a leasehold basis and pay an annual ground rent to the freeholder of the property However some new-builds contain clauses in their leases which allow rents to rise at regular intervals by huge amounts.
Worse, freeholders can increase ground rents whilst failing to offer any benefit to leaseholders. These loopholes mean millions of people are being forced to pay eye-watering ground rents and costs for extending their lease, sometimes leaving them unable to sell their homes. However the new law will ban ground rent from rising above the peppercorn amount.
2. Covid bailiff ban to end All purchases up to £500,000 will continue to be tax-free, with a further extension on homes bought up to a value of £250,000 until From June, a ban on bailiffs being able to use enforcement action to evict tenants will be the end of September - benefiting second lifted. movers. Rightmove estimates that the average stamp The ban was introduced as an emergency measure during the coronavirus pandemic. duty saving in England is £5,802. So let’s take a look at all the new laws in the pipeline below.
1. Ground rent ban Ground rent charges are to be banned on new-builds in a bid to protect millions of leaseholders from eye-watering increases every single year. Under proposed laws confirmed in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, people in residential long leases will pay no ground rent, other than a fixed peppercorn amount which would protect them from escalating fees.
Under it, bailiffs were asked not to carry out an eviction if anyone living in the property had Covid-19 symptoms or was self-isolating. It ends on May 31, meaning landlords will be able to use enforcement tactics to remove tenants.
3. More rights for pet owners New rules introduced earlier this year mean landlords can no longer automatically ban tenants from having pets in their property. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced new guidelines around common household pets in February.
However it will only apply to new buyers of new-builds - meaning 4.5million leaseholders Under the new Model Tenancy Agreement, in England and Wales will not be protected by landlords will no longer be able to issue blanket bans on pets. the law change.
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