The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill Explained

[@TLDRnews]

Hello - some people have questioned the claim made at 1:35 that "England and Wales are the last two countries in the developed world where leaseholds are widely used", which we heard from Barry Gardiner MP (here: www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2024/03/leaseholds-are-a-big-feudal-con). What we probably should've said is something like "England and Wales are the last two countries in the developed world where these sorts of leaseholds are widely used"; while "leaseholds" are common in places like Singapore and China, this is a different system, where all land is owned by the government, rather than a disparate group of private "freeholders". Furthermore, the strata system in Australia and the condominium system in the US/Canada are both much more like "commonhold" than "leasehold", in that they're usually jointly owned, albeit sometimes managed by a single entity. Hope that clears up any confusion, and thanks for watching!

[@riazortho]

Cheers mate

[@fluffy-puffy-puppy]

I've never voted Labour in my life, but as a leaseholder who has seen my cost increase 300% in less than 10 years of 'owning' my flat, I will be voting Labour on this single issue. 14 years of conservative government and they've done next to nothing on what is the biggest financial scandal in the UK since the GFC. Unless something drastic happens before the next election, why should we believe them now?

[@gerrardtin3208]

It is also widely used in Gibraltar

[@SurmaSampo]

Also common in Australia. The most common leasehold landowners in the UK are the Royal Family to the best of my knowledge.

[@1964_AMU]

In Israël, everything is leasehold, just the people ignore it....

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

Leaseholds are such a scam basically renting the land beneath your own house for your entire life and your family inheriting that bill after you die

[@danielthompson2561]

It’s not even like the property is cheaper either

[@DT-in9zx]

Ground maintenance has replaced the lease hold on new builds, so the developer sells the contract to a linked company and hike the initial fee.

[@aidy6000]

it is a hangover from medeival times. Leasehold houses arent actually that bad. My ground rent is the nominal sum of £1.37 for the next 400 years or so. its where properties have been built in the last few decades that developers and land owners have taken the piss.

[@danielthompson2561]

@@aidy6000 I bought a leasehold property (and have subsequently bought out the lease for £7k) and the ground rent started at £30 per year in 2006. It had risen to £250 in 2022 when I bought the house.

[@runningfromabear8354]

In Canada and the US, they're called trailer parks. People own the trailers but rent the land underneath them. Sometimes they get services from the trailer park owner, sometimes services from the city. In theory you're supposed to be able to move the house and it makes rents affordable. But most residents can't move their trailers.

[@SkamGame]

UK - "The land of middlemen for fees & commissions"

[@User-pu3lc]

And the land of limp paychecks. Double whammy.

[@seiwarriors]

Student Loans works exactly like this

[@sontieu]

Recently flew home. £5 drop fee in place at Heathrow. Sad times. Awful mgmt across the country.

[@satisfied656]

Just another stupid thing originated in england...

[@Drozit0]

Isn’t that the whole point of a monarchy?

[@hooting-ton5215]

The kind of bill to abolish leaseholds will never pass so long as there are landlords in Parliment

[@kanedNunable]

if i recall almost all Tory mps are landlords.

[@hooting-ton5215]

​@@kanedNunableExactly

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

Something will pass in the Commons, which will be labelled as "reform." It will almost certainly end up WORSE than what exists at present. It always does.

[@RyanTheHero3]

@@hooting-ton5215 Parliament isn't so much the problem, the house of lords is the biggest hurdle

[@DefaultMale_]

Which there are yeah. The government would still be building the amount of houses they built before the housing crisis if there weren't

[@PiotrKuczaj]

as an immigrant in U.K, i couldnt belive when I found out about leaseholds... most moronic idea ever.

[@rohanharridge5579]

Not arguing they're a dumb idea but I can think of a few contenders for the dumbest ever. We're still enduring the process of implimenting Brexit. The monarchy is also an incredibly stupid idea that gets a free pass because it's been around a long time & English boomers in particular suffer what I'd describe as either a sort of inherent pathological deference or maybe something stockholm syndrome adjacent. We've also been privatising/selling off, publically owned natural monopolies in utilities, transport since the 80's. We followed that retarded cowboy fella into a ruinous illegal invasion of Iraq in the early 2000's. During the pandemic when mant people were struggling to afford basics our now prime minister thought it would be a good idea to give middle class people £10 each to help spread an infectious disease around.

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

English history. Check it out. 😅

[@PiotrKuczaj]

@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw thx for great recommendation mate :) if you want something mind blowing Google “progress” or “improvement”

[@bigboysid5044]

Welcome to slave UK 😂😂😂😂 all the "bulls****" about the land of milk and honey 😂😂😂😂

[@Lightbeerer]

Same here. It explains a lot, though. And totally on trend for a country that strives to limit social mobility and generally keep the plebs down in the mud.

[@Eden-rg2ul]

in the UK we love landlordism so much, even as a 'homeowner' you still have to pay 'ground rent' to some mysterious freeholder (probably an investment fund) who can increase your ground rent at any time and you can do nothing about it

[@chi3i]

They can't increase it any time they like, any increases must be set out in the leasehold.

[@paulgibbons2320]

'Love it' is said in 'irony' for any none British who don't speak the language of irony yet... It's the bane of our existence.

[@bioblade87]

​@@chi3iYes they can. Freehold owners such as stand alone freehold new build houses. The ground fee is part of the covanant. There is usually a clause that allows the residents to fire the ground maintenance company if a certain percentage of residents agree. This is why housing associations are so popular to fight against increasing rates.

[@pedrocapllonchteba4843]

Leaseholds do no exist in Spain. And most of us live in flats and appartments. When we buy a flat, we are also buying a percentage of the land the block and its common areas are built in. There's a neighbour association which only includes the owners, no one external is allowed in. This association has President elected amongst the owners and all the decisions are taken democratically. Theres a monthly payment which covers the cleaning services and maintenance, and all the owners have access to all the expenses and the bank account status. The system works beautifully. Free access to information and 100% democratic. I'll never understand how the Britsh have sllowed this kind of scam for so long.

[@laurentiueana5129]

Same in Romania

[@sugoruyo]

You’re describing commonhold. We do the same in Greece and m, I’d wager, most of Europe. The UK just loves feudalism too much.

[@tinamendonca7241]

In Italy too.

[@Serfdomftw]

Yes, this is what you call a share of freehold, that exists in different strutures in the UK, however the problem with a share of freehold is that when a dispute arises you either get opression of the tenant, or opression of the neighbours, there is no balance and if you seek to achieve balance all you are doing is escalating legal costs when disputes arise. The only problem with UK leaseholds is that some landlords charge over the odds for renewal, when renewal should be peppercorn. Abolishing leaseholds is dumb. reforming them is better.

[@pedrocapllonchteba4843]

@@Serfdomftw No. On a shared freehold,at least the way most countries do it, the decisions are democratic, taken only by the owners. No one external can make those decisions. And you own part of the land, you don't get into a mortgage just for the right to use land. That's immoral. And obviously, you only get charged for the services and maintenance you enjoy, it's not a random amount which mostly serves to make someone richer. You have the right to demand the status of the accounts and all the bills to check if you agree. You can't demand you landlord for those documents, or have a saying on a leasehold.

[@clairecobb4119]

I'm a leaseholder. Biggest legal scam going. Speaking to my solicitor, when she said that I needed to extend the lease in order to sell, I would not only have to pay my legal fees but ALSO THE FREEHOLDER'S. 😱😭 My reaction was, "well that's robbery" and she told me she hears that all the time.

[@rob-123]

My first property was a ex council flat. Started off at £17 a month and went up to £56 over 4 years. Plus they always did extra charges at £500 a pot like fixing a wall on the other side off the estate which was no way near the land the flat was on. A typical year was around £2000 extra in charges but was often more. That was over 20 years ago so would hate to think what they are now.

[@multipl3]

Can’t wait for this to be scrapped. But are the tories even capable of getting this over the line?

[@dirtyden1]

Maybe but it won't be with support with their own party

[@SuperJibulus]

Doesn’t matter, I think it’s all but confirmed that Labour will win the next general election at this point lol

[@catmonarchist8920]

Who would take the heat of holding it up?

[@DizY_8]

The Tory's aren't even capable of pissing in a toilet, there's no way they'll get anything done. A brain-dead, quadriplegic person would probably be most effective in government than them...

[@undead_corsair]

If the tories say they're gonna do something actually good for common people, never expect them to follow through all the way, there's always a bloody catch. Ask why no-fault evictions still haven't been ended.

[@khathecleric]

Leaseholds exist in Singapore. In fact it's pretty much why 83% of homes in Singapore is owned by the government but sold to the citizens on 99 year leases.

[@hylje]

You can rent land and build on it almost anywhere. The UK law and established lease contracts seem exceptionally awful. Just making the leasehold law so that the landlord must pay fair market value as if they were freehold for the lessor’s buildings or units if they can’t agree on renewal can reduce a lot of abuse potential, as lessors can walk away without being financially ruined. The landlord can then decide if they want to buy out the lease or renew at terms the lessors can agree to.

[@mukkaar]

These are pretty common in places that are more authoritarian. This is how things are in China as well.

[@teelo12000]

Leaseholds are very common in Australia and NZ. I don't know where he got this "last 2 developed countries" line from.

[@domidomi917]

Came here to say this but after watching the video, I believe it is pretty rare, or almost nonexistent, where the developer actually purchases the land, i.e freehold, and then sells the development as leasehold. In other words, the owner of the land is almost 100% of the time either an individual owner or the government, rather than a corporation like a developer (while selling it leasehold)

[@runningfromabear8354]

This all sounds a lot like trailer parks over here.

[@euanthompson]

There is also the issue that people don't want to touch near end leaseholds. A few of the places we initially looked to buy were leaseholds ending in the next 20-30 years. Why would I want to invest a lot of money in a house only to be told in the next couple of decades that I am not allowed to renew because they want to rip my house down, and they don't even need to pay me for my house. It means that many leaseholds coming to end of terms are becoming unsellable.

[@Stealth360stealth]

This was covered in the video, regarding leases coming to an end and you being at the mercy of the freeholder to renegotiate the leasehold

[@richardevans560]

If you bought a property with less than 80 years on the lease you will obviously have been told by your solicitor the risks, if not you should sue them. If you bought it at a massive discount did you not wonder why?

[@MobiusCoin]

As a non Brit, this sounds like a scam. In what way can a leasehold be considered any kind of ownership?

[@Azerth]

It's 'ownership' as far as credit agencies are concerned, which is sometimes helpful. It'd be a scam if people wrongly thought they were getting a freehold, but it is made extremely clear at every step of the 'purchasing' process (at least it was in my case) what a leasehold is and what it is not.

[@Chewy427]

it's a depreciating asset

[@anthonyfish149]

Please please please do follow ups on this, telling us how its passed and what it does etc. Keep up the great vids.

[@andybonner5105]

I have been a Leeds city centre agent for over 22 years and I must say, this situation is literally killing me and the owners I represent. What a brilliant video to summarise what we are all going through. Thank you.

[@Brookler]

Whatever bill there is it'll be watered down to a point where it's useless anyway

[@reheyesd8666]

Don't forget the tax avoidance clauses.

[@fastsnake]

It would have been good to at least mention the main reason why leaseholders exist: aristocracy's survivance from the middle ages.

[@dariusalexandru9536]

And Thacher

[@paulgibbons2320]

It's all traced back to magna Carter one way or another.

[@cupcake1065]

@@dariusalexandru9536 existed way before Thatcher mate, Magna Carter days, from a feudal system where Lords of the land (landlords) leased or allowed those who were poorer to work the land in exchange for living on the land.

[@mattisglad]

Holy shit gov actually tackling issues that matter wowowowow!

[@irisobobo]

No, they just say they want to tackle it. Nothing will actually change.

[@SebAnders]

Well it's only taken them what, 14 years?

[@snark567]

Nah, it's just talks. Don't expect any decent laws passed that benefit you if you're a normal citizen.

[@IainFrame]

They won't tackle it. It's all talk.

[@katkatmewful]

For those saying that leaseholds exist outside the UK because of management fees what you are describing is a commonhold in the UK. I own a commonhold and can confirm that I have to pay a third party company exorbitant management and upkeep fees that are totally out of line with the actual property. Leaseholds are properties where you own the bricks and morter of your house but not the land its built on. If that's in an apartment building you may not be able to do repairs if the damage is outside of the footage you own e.g. external weatherproofing cladding or the roof. Also TLDR didnt mention that often to renew leases on the land can easily be two or three times the initial deposit if you're buying. AND banks won't mortgage properties that have leases under a minimum length, which is often 70+ years making lots of leaseholds functionally unsellable, unless you have about two years (minimum) salary lost down the back of the couch to extend your lease. Leaseholds are a feudal scam and should be abolished.

[@Serfdomftw]

Commonhold is not a form of ownership. You either have leasehold or freehold, and it has nothing to do with the "bricks and mortar", but the property as a whole as described in the lease agreement, registry and deeds. Please educate yourself.

[@SupremoPete]

I dont trust leaseholds a single bit

[@bonariablackie4047]

Lease holds are definitely nothing more than a scam. However, while it fantastic that landlords will have freeholds, I would remind you, as a renter of a landlord with a freehold, that landlords buy properties to do nothing more than make rental properties grossly expensive, provide zero protection for renters, and result in people having to live with their parents, because private freehold Landlords put prices up so nobody else can get on the housing ladder, and many people can't afford their crippling rents. I have to pay the Landlord's council tax for their property as well as all the other bills. I think Landlords should be required to pay the council tax on THEIR property, not the tenant. I want to see stronger protections against homelessness caused by Landlords just randomly deciding not to carry on a contract. I want to see a fairer rent. Everything is always about making things better for Landlords. What about protecting the renters they are ripping off?

[@CCrohny]

This. Currently in Bristol on OpenRent there is a guy (Dave) and he owns 139 properties in Bristol, all of these properties are extremely expensive to rent and are very low quality. I was desperate for a place and I asked about one property and because I am a student I would need to pay 12 months rent up front (About £9k). Who can afford that?

[@MonsterJuiced]

I agree with this about the council tax being the landlords responsibility, but they will just back the rent up by the cost of the tax anyway to cover it.

[@NorthDownReader]

"I think Landlords should be required to pay the council tax on THEIR property, not the tenant." That wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. You bid against your rivals for the tenancy based on the total you can afford. It doesn't matter whether the council tax is built into the rent or paid separately, you're paying it.

[@bonariablackie4047]

@@CCrohny My Flat mate and I lived in a property in Cambridge for a decade. I cleared up his shithole of a garden for free. We paid his ever increasing rent on time in full. We paid the bills on time in full. We looked after the property. And yet. All of a sudden, the millionaire landlord decided he wasn't going to extend our contract. He did exactly the same to the other four tenants. We had three months to find another place with two cats. We had got permission to have the cats because there was already a catflap in the back door. We were screwed. Then we had scams which wasted our time. We were lucky to find this tiny flat in the back of beyond, but it is costing us £950 a month rent plus £160 council tax, water, gas, electricity and internet as well as transport. 20 minutes cycle ride away. Neither of us drive, so we use the Guided Bus. There is a tiny Co-op who seem to think they can charge Waitrose prices always run out of stock. and close at 10pm. There is a tiny post office and shop on the OTHER SIDE of the village, that closes at 9pm. The last bus from Cambridge leaves at 10.30pm and arrives about 11pm. So concerts and plays are out of the question. All we have is a car park. We have one shelf of storage. My bathroom has no windows. Our half kitchen is in the living room. The landlords are lovely people. But then, when you are getting £950 for doing nothing, you would be too. And if they decided they weren't going continue the contract, We would have to pay to clean their flat, pay a massive deposit, pay for moving which last time cost us £2000 to move 12 miles, 9 years ago. Now, we simply couldn't afford to pay rent anywhere in the South East. Greedy landlords have priced us out entirely. It is absolutely preposterous.

[@MonsterJuiced]

@@NorthDownReader exactly this. It would be very complicated to ensure that the tenant is not paying anything towards council tax without overstepping a humanitarian line. Like ensuring landlords are only allowed to profit "£100" per month per property and the rent rate is set by the government strictly. Lol

[@zurielsss]

Singapore also had lots of leaseholds, because the biggest freeholder is the govt It’s not going away because they can lease the land out again when the least ends

[@grimaffiliations3671]

its less of a problem when the government does it because they're not motivated by profit

[@anonymousman9824]

@@grimaffiliations3671they are to some extent because the land is won through bidding, but most of that land is for public housing

[@grimaffiliations3671]

@@anonymousman9824 so it aint market housing

[@anonymousman9824]

@@grimaffiliations3671 it is, for private 99 years land whoever bids the highest gets it

[@PrograError]

@@grimaffiliations3671 what market housing? HDB, a government statutory board and developer for 99% of the local housing, is price control by invisible levers by the government and thru legislative restrictions such as MOPs and average neighbourhood racial makeup controls. And condos are so limited and expensive, most would never reach those heights.

[@HarithBK]

we have a similar system in Sweden but it is the government that sets the rates for the leasehold which is so low that it isn't worth it for a private person to deal with. rather only local governments deal with it since it affords them more control over the city without having to force it legally. need to bulldoze a building when the government already owns the land here is the cost of your house since the term ended. it is also why for a single household house it is really unpopular to get such a house and really only apartments deal with it. (it is also a numbers game tearing down 100-200 units of housing you need to reimburse just to get a tiny plot of land is not something the government wants to do)

[@seneca983]

But is it really a case of leasehold? Or is it that the home is owned "normally" (i.e. not for a limited amount of time) but the land is rented rather than owned?

[@oakstrong1]

When I was viewing a house for my family I fell in love with a house that was rather cheap considering the location. The reason it was so cheap was because there was only 25 years left of the lease left. I bought a house I never liked, but which was a freehold. I think that lease holders should not be able to renew their lease, but instead being forced to sell it to whoever next buys the property, or to the current owner at a reasonable price, set by a law. The land owners should not be allowed to demolish a house that has been in occupation

[@kamranhashmi1575]

Couldn't you have extended the lease?

[@DaveVespa]

You also have the issue of unadopted land too. When a development is finished the roads and open spaces aren't transfered to the local council. The roads don't get covered by the local highways department and you have to pay on top for someone to cut the grass on open space. You have to pay a service charge to do all this, and still pay the same council tax as the areas that have been adopted.

[@Natttttttttt]

I’ve always found that ridiculous, we have a dispute on rubbish collection as we’re essentially paying twice in my building, as we apparently need a private one. It’s a joke

[@robertogarcia-cw4go]

@DaveVespa Exactly. All the new developments in my area are constructed this way. It's insane to buy a freehold house, yet be subject to an additional maintenance charge for upkeeping block-paved access roads with private refuse collections etc. The amount quoted appears low at the time of purchase, as negotiated between the developer and a third party maintenance company. There is no restriction on the increased charges over time, nor an easy way to complain when open spaces are not maintained properly. Of course, councils love not having to adopt these developments as they save a fortune.

[@DaveVespa]

@@robertogarcia-cw4go I'm on a parish council. The Borough are building a small housing estate in our area. I'm pushing for us to apply to do the grass cutting side for a nominal £1 a year. We have to charge something, and it's what we would have been doing if it was adopted land.

[@AlexWard94]

The media (and TLDR!) have actually missed a crucial change in legislation that is in this bill. Currently, if you own a FREEHOLD (yes, NOT a leasehold), if you're subject to an estate rentcharge, your rent charge owner can effectively take ownership of your house without warning if you don't pay your rent charge for 40 days. This bill regulates estate rent charges and, amongst other things, bans rent charge owners from being able to do this. It is an unbelievably important change and has been totally and utterly missed by the media. I bet there are huge swathes of people who don't realise that, even with their freehold on a recent build, they risk losing their house if they don't pay their management company.

[@jfbrycn8628]

The system isn't fundamentally that bad if it was legislated for in a way that made freeholders accountable - currently they can fail and just walk away with no repercussions.

[@ChinmayPandhare]

The intent doesn’t matter if the consequences are horrendous

[@rizaldard3835]

the cost of renewing leasehold should be controlled and standardized...

[@randomaccount53793]

NZ also has a big problem with leaseholds in city centres. We've had decent apartments sell for less than 50k, some even hitting auction with $1 reserve. It is also used for native land and it is very predatory with whole apartment buildings almost worthless ($20k per unit) because of excessive ground rent (30-40k p/a). It has destroyed the waterfront of our biggest city.

[@mcsaworld2898]

In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), where Canberra is located, all land is leasehold. The ACT government owns all the land and grants 99-year Crown leases to property purchasers. This system was influenced by the ideas of the American social philosopher, Henry George. So, whenever land is rezoned to a higher value use (such as from single family home to apartment block), 100% of the capital gains on the land goes to the government/public, rather than to a private landholder or developer.

[@desynceso]

Bit of a weird thing to say at the start by insinuating that people are unaware they own a leasehold… people who own leasehold know they own a leasehold

[@AlbertY-wj1iq]

We have leaseholds in Canada and they're quite common. They're known as condominiums where you buy the right to live in the property for a fixed term but your property is owned by management. Same problem as England: property managers of condos in Canada are now trying to charge exorbitant charges and it's impossible to sell your condo because prospective buyers want to know the management fee. I'm watching this space, lessons for Canada to learn if England and Wales pull off this reform

[@danz1182]

Maybe its different in Canada, but a condominium is different than a leasehold. Condo ownership works in one of two ways. In some places you own the unit you live in and an undivided partial interest in the common areas. In other places you own an undivided partial interest in everything with an exclusive right to possess your unit. The property manager just works for the owners. All decisons are made collectively by the unit owners, usually through an owners association.

[@runningfromabear8354]

It gets even worse with trailer parks. They've been jacking up their prices in Canada. My Great-aunt in her 90s needed rescuing. She'd been renting the land for 50 years. A few years ago a corporation bought the park and jacked up the prices 400% (during covid). Her adult kids figured she would be better off in a nursing home. We visited more than her kids did but now she's 5 hours drive away. Last photo shared online suddenly our tennis playing Great-aunt is using a walker and struggling. Her older sister, my grandmother lives with my mother and is in better shape. Their parents lived to 109 and 107. She should be in better state at 93based 9n her parents and siblings at this age. Nan climbed Grouse mountain in Vancouver with us last year. She would have been better off staying in her trailer.

[@parvishwazid8150]

That's rent in advance 😂😂

[@philiphowkins541]

To sell my flat my solicitor told me it was unsalable as the ground rent doubled as no mortgage co would lend on it my it was £5 per week by paying the freeholder £2500 it was changed from then it would never go up after that I sold it .Good job I had a good solicitor

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

First ever smart Tory decision

[@TarzanGuadeloupe]

It's just talks, don't hold your breath

[@cazman182]

Which is why it won't pass.

[@paulbo9033]

It just talk mate. They announce amd then never action. Stop falling for it.

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

Guys, Ik it probably won't pass, but the fact that they've used their 2 collective braincells to identify an issue people actually care about is an accomplishment for them It is like celebrating a 12yo finally being able to do addition

[@mradulavohra]

Can I just say this could have been done when the labour party was in power. Now the labour party still do not vote for this becoming law.

[@BlueMoon56832]

Yeah i'm legit stuck in my parents house until this crisis is dealt with

[@richardevans560]

Yeah that's why you can't afford a house, leaseholds. So many fake posts on this.

[@user-rx162r]

​@@richardevans560literally anything but usury and left wing welfare inflating currency

[@XxBruce5002xX]

​@@richardevans560I believe he is referring to greed

[@thelegendofthefive838]

My Grannys house is owned by the Duke of Norfolk she pays 4 pounds a year for a 999 year lease.

[@sbIvanov]

4 in one day or one pound every quarter?

[@SodaPrezsing]

@@sbIvanov£4.00 divided by 365 obviously

[@thelegendofthefive838]

@sbIvanov ngl idk but both my grandparents pay 4 ones owned by the Duke of Norfolk and ones a different Duke idk which one

[@aaroncousins4750]

​@@sbIvanov"4 pounds *a year*"

[@aidy6000]

The land my house was built was bought from the local Manorial lords in 1890 for 500 years, I pay £1.37PA. and I dont actually pay it, the sum is so small it costs the owners solictors more in letters than it does in rent!!! hahahahaha I beleive either the council or the decendents of the property developer own the land now.

[@robjoe1]

You forgot to mention that the crown estates are among the largest leaseholders and are opposing the legislation hence goves watered down version Labour will have the same issue

[@SeanSoraghan]

The governmentowns the Crown estates

[@grahamjacob97]

In Australia leasehold was superseded by strata title which effectively puts the management of communal areas (landscape, external walls, internal corridors etc) in the hands of a strata title committee which is controlled by the property owners. Separate to the discussion on leasehold property prices in urban and suburban areas of large towns and cities will over time rise as long as demand exceeds supply AND development is left in the hands of private developers who will ensure that demand exceeds supply. It's always difficult to predict where growth will occur or more particularly the rate, however, the current situation is effectively hands off by the government which allows the private industry to determine the location and rate of housebuilding (and by direct implication) the ability to buy and hold property to deliberately force prices to rise. The government could be far more involved in the planning process - proactive rather than reactive AND could provide funding for houses for rent (aka council houses). The UK government has access to cheaper funding than just about any commercial entity therefore this could both produce more and cheaper housing AND not cost taxpayers. BUT there is a large vocal group who would be directly opposed to this including private developers and private landlords. It should also be mentioned that councils stripped of other funding sources have been using charges to developers to cover expenses elsewhere (I'm guessing on this but it's common in other government sectors).

[@tidbit1877]

I think the key to not let corporations own residential houses, and limit the number an individual can buy and then rent. Also, in GB it's kind of maddening that the government just refuses to let any of the small towns grow, especially up north, there's plenty of room for housing, the government's just in on the whole "restrict supply to inflate prices scam".

[@ashleyd9310]

1:33 I'm moving to the UK in July and every time I learn about some new concerning think about the UK, I look into it further and it ends up just being England and Wales.

[@grantross3600]

Come to scotland

[@CCrohny]

Come to Scotland where we have the highest amount of crime, drug abuse, lowest literature rates, highest tax rates and a bunch of failing services just like England and Wales. It isn't better here.

[@catmonarchist8920]

England and Wales is the jurisdiction where the vast majority of people live so it's more newsworthy.

[@griffin955]

As a Leaseholder of a London flat that has service charges, if Labour can assure that I would be able to own my flat as a partial freeholder rather than pissing money away in service charges, then they 100% have my vote. It's the single biggest stressor as I had to sacrifice for years to get the flat I have now, and knowing i still don't own it is atrocious.

[@sydneyfong]

1:35 Hong Kong is not a "country", but we're also still using the leasehold system. Exclusively. And all land is owned by the government. Thanks to the UK of course.

[@washboard7793]

theres a huge difference in the land being owned by the government vs private sector though...

[@sebastianflynn1746]

This is actually a Chinese thing, land is owned by the local government and they implement a lease hold system to get funds as they get nothing from the CCP. This is done to give regions greater autonomy and in theory encourages innovation from local governments, sadly what it's actually led to is a widespread property bubble and an economic disaster.

[@Guesswhokk]

But the Hong Kong government (before 97), never introduce forced eviction, they use buy back scheme (even today). The big 4 developer for Hong Kong are criminals anyway with very close ties to current government. Also, if forced eviction was a thing, Kowloon City would not have existed decades ago.

[@sydneyfong]

@@sebastianflynn1746 Before the handover to China in 1997, ALL lands in Hong Kong, with a handful (literally < 5) of exceptions, were on leasehold with owner being the British Hong Kong government The system has nothing to do with CCP, except that it incidentally aligned with CCP ideology.

[@sydneyfong]

@@muffinman4544 The UK government handed Hong Kong to a regime that doesn't believe in private land ownership in principle.

[@kraze1982]

this is essentially the same system a lot of "trailer parks" have here in the US

[@maikotter9945]

Is John Francis Kennedy Junior, on 12 % points of the popular vote, US wide, for the President Election? Is he the Irish-American version of "Uncle Scrooge"?

[@monkeyboy600]

@@maikotter9945 What are you talking about?

[@catmonarchist8920]

​@@maikotter9945the '60s are over

[@EbonySaints]

​@@maikotter9945He's a mix of "90s Liberal Conspiracy Nut" (Modern Anti-Vaccine theories started there.) and old-school liberal Democrat "Tax the Rich/America is the Evil Empire". He's too left-wing on most things for most moderates to consider him and his Anti-Vax stance has made him persona not grata for Democrats. Also, that comment made no sense.

[@runningfromabear8354]

@kraze1982 Exactly what I was thinking.

[@ScooterinAB]

This sounds like that whole "if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing" kind of thing.

[@Shackerrrz]

I own a leasehold flat in the UK. I am lucky in that the ground rent is very small and the lease terms mean the ground rent will always be small. The service charges are also quite reasonable. Basically the leasehold system can work really well. But the system is so easy to abuse as leaseholders struggle to jointly challenge anything when it’s difficult to know who owns the other flats when the majority are buy to let properties.

[@NsABullitzZ]

I'm in the same boat except very small 😂. It's around £150 a month and always goes up every year or 2. It's actually laughable reading the end of year document and seeing what they claim they pay for very rudimentary services

[@firstpostcommenter8078]

Even in Amsterdam the municipality shamelessly put most properties as leasehold which is ridiculous. All of them should be declared freehold.

[@1964_AMU]

It is a municipality !! It is nearly impossible to expropriate someone in a Dutch City, they do not want to have again the problem to wait 45 years to build a metro station in a suburb detained by one person residing outside the country who cannot be reached by any mean. On the Continent, you can expropriate a person who can be identified and who can be reached by courrier.

[@firstpostcommenter8078]

@@1964_AMU But that issue can happen in other cities too be it Eindhoven, Almere, etc

[@1964_AMU]

@@firstpostcommenter8078 I am afraid these Cities could imitate Amsterdam...

[@NsABullitzZ]

Another infuriating thing about freeholds is how many are owned by foreign investors who have never lived in the UK. Found out from my boss that most of the high street in my town is owned by a Swiss investment firm

[@holz_name]

What would solve the housing crisis? Build more freaking houses. Or rather, convert low density houses to middle density apartments. I truly don't understand the USA and UK. They love the single family town houses and then they are all whining that there aren't enough houses to live in. Here in Germany we have 5, 8 and 20 stores apartments in the city, town houses are banned to the outskirts of the city. But all I see in London are town houses in the city. Only in the very center of London are somewhat denser 3 to 5 stores buildings. But already 2 km outside the center there are only single family town houses. Btw, it's so strange that on a satellite photo I cannot see where the center of London is. But I can see easily where the center of any German city is. Because in the center there is medium to high density buildings.

[@disquietawe]

I really don't understand why this video thinks changing the leasehold system will help the housing crisis. It's a good thing to do and all, but it's got nothing to do with the housing crisis.

[@christinalayzelle832]

​@@disquietawe The housing crisis is caused by supply and demand - apologies for stating the obvious. The UK population has increased by 9 million in the last 29 years, mainly because of immigration.

[@NoLiesWereTold]

When you live in a major city like London you think leaseholds are normal. I came out of London bought my first house and asked about the leasehold. The estate agent said we don't do that out here.

[@DavidAByrne]

The American State of Hawaii also has a leasehold system along with fee simple land ownerships. Leasehold property sell at a significant discount compared to fee simple property. Any leasehold system is repressive and can only increases income/wealth inequality.

[@SubXero1000]

conveniently leaves out this system being implemented by King Kamehameha in the early 1800's when he was the sole owner of all land in Hawaii, well before becoming an American state

[@navajojohn9448]

My understanding is even you have a freehold home, farm, etc and find profitable minerals under it all goes to the king or queen. In the end they own everything under the ground meaning never true ownership of land.

[@sugoruyo]

Well, most of us are kind of more concerned with having a place to live not opening a mine or oil well. Some improvement over the current system would be a massive improvement for most cases.

[@LewisSkinner]

My home in Sheffield is leasehold. I pay around £15 annually, and it's up for renewal in around 930 years' time. So far, so good. The main issue though is that when I wanted to extend my house, the freeholder charged £1,800 just to send a letter saying 'yes'. We also tried to buy, which they agreed to - but subject to certain covenants (such as having to consult them if we wish to extend, run a business, divide the plot up etc.), essentially keeping their control and their right to charge for 'one off' events. I cannot believe that this is still legal in a Western democracy in the 2020's!

[@katiejane13uk]

Leasehold isn't homeownership You don't own it you are a tenant

@@katiejane13ukit is ok for flats. but homes no.

[@danthelambboy]

Property companies like Right Move and Zoopla don't allow you to set up saved searches without including leaseholds, it is gross, I have no need or want for a leasehold

[@hmrobert7016]

As usual a system that most people felt was working pretty well until corporations got greedy.

[@potato_nugget]

It was never working well. People just viewed it as normal

[@victorkochkarev2576]

​@@potato_nugget But corporations made it worse.

[@chrisf9377]

In the UK then there's a procedure called Collective Enfranchisement where the leaseholders can collectively, under certain conditions, effectively force the freeholder to sell them the building freehold. We set up a freehold company and I became a shareholder. We have a very low ground rent and we have a lot of say in the management of the building and lease extensions are reasonably cheap.

[@warrik3958]

Bought a flat in a refurbished 400 year old pub in Manny. The lease is for 999 years ( the max ) and the "landlord" is some duke that if he wanted the money from us, its litrally 10p a year. The rights were signed in Victorian times and can't be updated 😂 its a waste of legal time, as it cost us about extra £100 to deal with the documents when buying. I believe the system should be changed to the same as hong kong where after set time, the building can be re-evaluated to see if its worth knocking the building down to build another.

[@sydneyfong]

What do you mean? In Hong Kong all we have are leasesholds ...

[@lucycooper9149]

We tried that in the 60's; it has generally been considered a mistake ever since.

[@NorthDownReader]

"its a waste of legal time, as it cost us about extra £100 to deal with the documents when buying. " I know in my part of the country and for a lease just on the site (not the building) you have a right to 'buy out' the freehold for a price calculated as a sensible multiple of the ground rent. Too late for you as a buyer, but doing that might make your property a little bit more attractive to a buyer when it's time for you to sell.

[@warrik3958]

@@NorthDownReader not a chance, its a flat, and the £100 was just for legal documentaion

[@warrik3958]

@@sydneyfong Hong Kong government leases the land to developers. Not like the british system

[@UomoMarco]

Incorrect, Commonwealth countries have some remnants of this. 'Old rent' in Malta means descendants from families within a property NOT freehold are subject to lose it completely... the rent is xtremely minimal (most are under 50eur yearly) - the 'groundrent'. The second question we ask when enquiring on a property is whether it is freehold, after the price.

[@han090]

Ireland still has leaseholds too. Not sure how much research they put into England and Wales being the "only" places still doing this.

[@FreeLeaseholders]

@@han090 Those flats usually come with a share of the freehold though. So leaseholders have control of their buildings, costs and service providers.

[@danwic]

Yup. When i moved out from my parents back in 1999, i was advised by my parents never to buy a leasehold, as the length of the tenancy would make it harder to sell the house if i decided to move. When i moved home again, finding a freehold was hard. But i refused to buy a leasehold.

[@papps44]

Trying to sell my leasehold. Had a chain collapse recently which thoroughly pissed me off. The leasehold system is a complete farce and needs getting rid off immediately. Why should people live with miserable property situations. Labour need to fix this shitty intolerable situation pronto.

[@gordonmackenzie4512]

I live in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and have never come across leasehold. Don’t think it actually exists. Maybe some commercial property, but not domestic as far as I know.

[@katiejane13uk]

It was abolished in Scotland

[@MoneyGist]

Was waiting for someone to point this out. The video says UK, then goes on to say England and Wales.

[@DrakeHornby]

My parents missed a chance to increase the lease for £1k to £40k within 10 years+. It’s a crazy system. Freehold owner was some rich guy from Israel. Luckily we were able to sell it.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Crisis ? No crisis for landlords. Boom time for them.

[@nay8640]

This hits home. I am a leaseholder in shared ownership scheme. The rent and mortgage is relatively low, but it is the Service charge which they get us with. Service charge is where they can charge anything they want. They can say they have used expensive contractors to maintain communal area, then show us the quotes when really they have paid half the price. It’s all a scam. Lies and money grabbing housing associations.

[@undead_corsair]

Housing is our biggest problem right now. Renting or owning, average working and middle class people are getting screwed. People should stop fretting about immigration and focus on the real reasons it costs so much to just live right now.

letting in a million people a year is a cause though. the uk only builds around 200,000/300,000 houses a year. a house usually takes 1 to 2 years to build. while letting in a person takes hours. every person needs at least a flat to live (even flat living is a luxury now in many areas of the uk, people are paying flat rates 20 years ago for rooms in shared accommodation). every newcomer that moves to the uk one day dreams of having a semi detached house on freehold. it is the British dream after all. that not happening with the immigration and house building system we got right now. the demand is too great for the supply which leads to high rents/ housing prices from landlords looking to exploit the situation.

[@jaimiepotts]

if there are more people, just build more houses - simple

@@jaimiepottsyou need tradesmen/ labourers for that. organise firms that supply heavy equipment like jcbs. more allocated space to build on that needs to be negotiated over by solicitors, council/government entities. you need to follow green laws and have support from the local community. this is not a quick fix situation my friend. i would support foreign tradesmen to come here to a degree (too many tradesmen might lead too much competition and a decrease in their wages) the real problem is that we have too many unskilled people coming over on student visas then leaving their courses to work in the gig economy/ cash in hand jobs. in the uk there is a lot of illegal subletting going on too which is adding to the housing crises and is mainly foreigners that live in those awful accommodations.

[@ryancampbell927]

In Scotland, properties are freehold. Leaseholds are so alien to us and I really hope this bill is passed for England and Wales!

[@Victor-vf1fi]

They will never ever resolve this problem. They are the problem.

[@navajojohn9448]

There has been a problem with land ownership and control for a very long time. I have never seen so many attached and semi attached homes in my life including in the burbs and country side. The the UK average size home is only 76 sqm which is a third of homes in Canada, US, Australia former colonies.

[@han090]

Those other three countries land is much cheaper because most of the previous occupants were killed a few hundred years ago. They have way more wide open space in all three. More appropriate to compare the UK to other smaller European countries.

[@ChrisWoodhead2811]

Leasehold fees are such a disgusting and ridiculous scam

[@malmazoar]

We have the same issue in Christchurch, New Zealand. But a lot of leases are either 21 or 50 year leases, and a lot have come up for renewal in the last few years. So leases are going from $500 a year to $10,000 or higher. Hence why leasehold properties sell for about 15% of freehold properties.

[@squirepraggerstope3591]

Some good points. Councils particularly are very often vile Landlords, both re tenants and leaseholders in former council flats. Even more so as their attached bureaucracies are invariably rife with parasitical incompetents. Usually the case with large public OR private sector institutions in the UK, which invariably evolve "British Rail" style cultures and attitudes to any de facto client/customer base or equivalently placed unfortunates.

[@janewayles499]

Councils don't charge ground rents or service charges even when properties are sold. Greedy freeholders are a different thing. Rewatch the explanation you have clearly misunderstood the issue here.

[@squirepraggerstope3591]

@@janewayles499 Councils routinely charge service charges and oblige leaseholders in former council flats to pay pro-rata annual maintenance/repair costs. So do some research yourself before you squeak out drivel at me!.

[@janewayles499]

Not where I live in Manchester

[@Mike-kb2df]

We used to live in a leasehold flat. Ground rent was not that bad, may be £300 a year, but maintenance costs almost quadrupled in just three years. Started off with around 1.5k a year when we moved in and surpassed 5k a year when we moved out. Unloaded it at a hefty loss and bought a house instead, but savings on maintenance costs alone (I hear they have gone up even more now) will make up for it in just a few years.

[@archiemcberry7102]

Hopefully Sir Keir will nationalize all housing. The government should seize all housing and place more than one family is single family homes. Then we will need no new construction. Many homes could house three or four families.

[@stephenclark9917]

Yes, and telescreens should be installed in all rooms to ensure correct behaviour! How foolish you sound.

[@archiemcberry7102]

@@stephenclark9917 Not a bad idea. Perversion seems to be out of control.

[@adrianbaron4994]

Indonesia also has leaseholds, however the landlord doesnt usually levy any additional fees or ground rents etc. but dont expect them to ever do any repairs or anything else.

[@JamesPhillipsOfficial]

I've always hated leasehold. I'd sooner buy the land, permission to build on it, materials to build it with and build it entirely by myself than be scammed by ground rent and difficulty selling

[@videosfromelsewhere926]

Come to the US, we have fee-simple property ownership here. Just avoid new developments with Homeowners' Associations, which are suspiciously similar to Freeholders, actually

[@fintamaria2429]

Leaseholds..Will Never pass so long as there are LANDLORDS in Parliament 😢😢😢😢

[@JasonTaylor-po5xc]

Interesting. I had no idea this existed in the UK. There are common complaints about landlords not living up to their responsibility in the US, but this takes things to a whole new level. I assume the fact something is a free/leasehold is disclosed during the sales process. If so, it is probably an issue many buyers are simply unaware. I would think all the gotchas of a leasehold would automatically make them a lesser desired asset than a freehold. In the US, the owned flats are referred to as condominiums or condos, and each building has a condo association that someone is required to join if they purchases the condo unit in that building. Association fees aren't cheap but they do cover all building and grounds maintenance including shared amenities like pools or fitness centers. Coordination is done by monthly association meetings.

[@Zen-rd9np]

Short answer: no Long answer: BUILD MORE F@?£ING HOUSING!!!

[@snark567]

Doesn't matter if they build more housing since landlords will just buy most of them out and the rest will be inflated according to what landlords can afford, not what the regular person can afford.

[@xxkklphdxxyt]

A similar contract-type exists in Germany, called "erbbaurecht", where you get the land for a certain amount of time, often times 99 years", and than can do whatever you want, as long as you pay your "erbzins" i.e. rent, which is determined and fixed at the beginning of the term. When the lease ends you get a compensation for whatever buildings are on the property, usually double the value of the buildings. This system is commonly used by local governments as to not spend a ludicrous amount of their Budget on Housing but keeping a say on where to build what

[@larskaminskidk]

About 83% of all homes in Singapore are Leaseholds

[@talideon]

And the freeholder is the Singaporean government, which is a _very_ different situation from the situation in the UK where the freeholders are private individuals.

[@larskaminskidk]

@@talideon It is still a Leasehold

[@larskaminskidk]

Singapore has a semi-democratic government and it doesn't matter whether it's the state or private individuals who are freeholders. The UK government could provide better protection for leaseholders through legislation

[@larskaminskidk]

@allergy5634 Singapore has a semi-democratic government and it doesn't matter whether it's the state or private individuals who are freeholders. the UK government could provide better protection for leaseholders through legislation

[@dennisbelov5729]

Germany has a similar leasehold system known as ' Erbpacht'. You own the property but may not necessarily the foundations. Some contracts state you are obliged to pay a regular fee for the ground indefinitely and these leaseholds can run for over 100-200 years until renewal. A lot of the leaseholdings are owned by the Church or other community investment groups that hold the lease rights.

[@brunna7995]

> Commonhold is not arguing with neighbors. It’s electing a committee (who also lives there and pays the charges) to make decisions or put forth decisions for voting. The argument that it’s too messy is ridiculous. > Governments get involved in contracts all the time. All it takes is for them to pass a bill saying the practice is unfair in this day and age. End it, and give the “freehold” to the rightful property owners. End of story.

[@GAM3RMJ]

I’ve been noticing leasehold tags on a lot of “starter” 2 - 3 bedroom houses (not flats) in areas that are meant to be more affordable ( West Midlands, North of England e.t.c) Why is this a thing???

[@Jay_Johnson]

Because it allows developers to extract rent.

[@alandoril1]

The bill was watered down because the treasury objected due to there being too many private pension funds tied into profiting from freeholds.

[@ladymorwendaebrethil-feani4031]

In my country (Brazil), we can purchase a house, buldoze it and built a small building with 3 or 5 floors and two apartments per floor. Housing crisis doesnt arrive here. Rent is not cheap, but is not impossible, and buying an apartment is still realistic for middle class.

[@alexandermartinjones]

Disappointing that there’s no mention of the freehold/ground rent aka ‘fleecehold” situation. I live in a freehold new build property but our deeds still tie us into ridiculous yearly fees which we’re unable to get out of. We were initially told that there would be “small estate fees” whilst the council adopted our estate but seven years later, we found that to be a lie.

[@eskimo4130]

Disgusting behaviour by the councils again. They continue to be fleeced by the private sector due to their incompetence with management.

[@oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo]

Coordinating repairs with neighbours is easier than you think, democracy works. I have direct experience with to.

[@katiejane13uk]

Commonhold is needed

[@MrAvant123]

I understand the need for leasehold in mass occupied buildings, but when we have a situation where unscrupulous developers are deliberately selling leasehold houses just to have the ability to screw leaseholders and create a revenue stream then no. There has to be tighter legislation on service chages and ground rents...

[@tosspot1305]

The house builders ran a scam until recently selling new builds as leaseholds with the option to buy the freehold after 2 years. They then secretly sold all the freeholds to a 3rd party company within those 2 years. The 3rd party then offered the freehold buybacks at extortionate prices. Sometimes up to the same value as the house essentially pricing out the leaseholders and then doubling the ground rents and fees. It's disgusting

[@HOLY4CHICKEN]

Lol “ Labour on the left “. They tories in a red tie

[@skyscraperfan]

The nice thing in the UK is that there if no real property tax like in most other countries. There is a community tax, but it has a very low cap. From a certain value of the property, the community tax will no longer increase. So if you own a £50 million mansion, it will not cost you more taxes than a £500,000 mansion.

[@navajojohn9448]

Will the new law apply to the Dutchy of Cornwall? The land is twice the size of metro Londonstan. The people living there even had to pay fees if and when they rented out their home or just a room. Residents have been fighting the land lease for years but Chucky wants to keep his easy 21 million profit. I guess the same stands for the landlord now Willie. Amazing no death or transfer taxes as the dutchy is handed down to others.

[@craigsmith5502]

Just a reminder that the system isn't UK wide. Leasehold isn't really a thing in Scotland.

[@marcusmoonstein242]

The simplest practical solution is to require leasehold contracts to either have a single lump-sum upfront payment that covers the entire term of the lease, or a fixed monthly/annual payment that is agreed when signing of the lease and cannot be changed. But I agree that allowing freeholders to change the fees they charge at a whim is very unfair on the tenant.

[@Serfdomftw]

This video shows a fundamental understanding of what a leasehold is and why it exists. The people creating this bill also do not understand what a leasehold is. Its not legally possible to abolish leaseholds in their entirety. All they'd be redoing is relabelling it. Also Commonholds doesn't exist as a form of ownership. You either have a freehold or a leasehold. - I think what you are referencing is joint-ownership, but to even suggest that as a replacement is facile.

[@vikrammkale]

Quick correction - not just England and wales, Germany has a concept of “erbpacht” as well - that’s basically a leasehold

[@crissummer4058]

Totally agree, property taxes are based on the homes value, and the tenant owns nothing. Therefore, they should be responsible for the property tax. Yes, i know they will charge more, but the tenant has enough to pay without property tax being charged in their name.

[@graham1034]

We have a leasehold system here in Canada as well but it is much different. It's largely limited to First Nations land and sold as 99 year leases. I believe they are not allowed to sell reserve land so this is kind of a workaround. It's also mostly single detached homes (or larger properties) rather than apartments. The values are quite a bit lower than comparable freeholds since it's essentially a depreciating asset.

[@Jim90117]

I dont agree with you saying freeholds and leaseholds are seen as the same, I've known many people buying houses over the last 5 or 6 years and if the ad says leasehold it's immedietely removed from their list of houses they are considering purchasing. Many people in England will not go near a property that is leasehold, i've seen gorgeous houses in nice areas sell 20% cheaper than that areas market value due to it being leasehold.

[@NoName-mq8cs]

Can you do a video for the new powers of councils for empty commercial properties please and Thank you!

[@melgrant7404]

Some council houses being demolished near me .the current residents are to be moved while the site is redeveloped. Private bought homes are being purchased back.or if necessary being compulsory purchased. It's unlikely private tenants will ever to be able afford to buy the new house back.