Mark Tami MP presses housing minister to ensure nobody is left behind in the leasehold scandal

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami has pressed the housing minister to ensure nobody is left behind in the leasehold scandal.

A Westminster Hall debate last week was tasked with getting an update from the Government on what progress has been made on leasehold reform.

The campaign for leasehold reform has been going for 5 years now as campaigners want to see the abolition of residential leasehold in England and Wales, as well as full and proper redress for the millions of people currently trapped in leasehold properties.

Traditionally, houses are sold as freehold with the buyer having complete control over the property, those sold as leasehold mean the buyer if effectively a tenant on a very long term rental.

The ground the leasehold house is built on remains in the ownership of the freeholder who charges an annual ground rent.

Leasehold property owners were charged a very low “peppercorn” ground rent, but now developers have started to insert clauses into leasehold contracts where the ground rent can be hundreds of pounds a year, doubling every ten years.

Mark Tami who sat on an all-party parliamentary leasehold reform group, previously brandished the practice by housing developers to sell homes as leasehold a ‘scam.’ 

During last weeks debate Esther McVey, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) addressed a number of MPs who had used the debate to stress the importance of urgent reform and discussed what the Government is doing moving forward.

Mark Tami intervened stating, “The Minister talks about going forward, which is great, but we must go back too. We cannot leave behind the people who have been sold a pup.” 

The Minister did then go on to say that the Government are working with the Law Commission to look at ways to support those already affected.

Mark Tami stated after the debate, “I am pleased that the Minister and her Department recognise the importance of reform and she reaffirmed her commitment to ban leaseholds from being sold in the future. 

“It is however important not to forget about those already affected. I stand by my previous assessment that this is a national scam and I will not stop until justice is brought to those who have been caught up in it.”