Property industry figures have reacted to the Government’s latest legislative agenda after the King confirmed plans for further leasehold reform and accelerated building safety remediation during the State Opening of Parliament.
Among the housing measures announced in the King’s Speech were proposals for a new Bill aimed at speeding up remediation work for residents living in unsafe buildings, alongside draft legislation to reform the leasehold system and cap ground rents.
During the speech, the King said: “My government will bring forward a bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding and a draft Bill to ban abusive conversion practices.
“My Ministers will bring forward legislation to increase long-term investment in social housing and to reform the leasehold system, including the capping of ground rents.”
LEASHOLD REFORM
Reacting to the announcement, Sim Sekhon, Group CEO at LegalforLandlords, warns that while leasehold reform may be welcomed by homeowners, the Government faces a difficult balancing act between improving consumer protections and maintaining investor confidence.
Sekhon says: “Leasehold reform may benefit homeowners, but the government’s real challenge is delivering fairer protections without undermining investment confidence or triggering wider financial consequences across the housing market.
“Any further reform of the leasehold system is likely to be welcomed by leaseholders, but there is also a real risk of unintended financial consequences for landlords, freeholders and even pension funds exposed to ground rent investments.
“Measures such as capping ground rents and reducing enfranchisement premiums could significantly impact long-term asset values and income streams, particularly for landlords who have structured investments around existing lease agreements.”
BUILDING SAFETY
The Government is also expected to introduce further measures aimed at improving building safety and accelerating remediation work on unsafe residential blocks.
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director at Inventory Base, says the industry’s focus has now shifted from introducing regulation to ensuring remediation actually happens more quickly in practice.
She adds: “Building safety reform will ultimately be judged not by the number of new regulations introduced, but by how quickly unsafe buildings are actually remediated and returned safely to residents.
“The industry is no longer questioning the need for building safety reform. The real test now is whether the government can deliver a system that accelerates remediation instead of slowing it down through complexity, inconsistency and procedural bottlenecks.
“Residents need safer buildings, but they also need a system that can distinguish between critical life-safety risks and procedural friction.
“Ultimately, success will be measured less by the number of new powers introduced and more by whether unsafe buildings are actually identified, remediated and returned to residents with greater certainty, at scale and without years of operational paralysis.”
