Removal of Ground rents and how to get rid of yours!

Removal of Ground rents and how to get rid of yours!

Good news for Leaseholders: the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 came into force from 30th June 2022 and put an end to ground rents for new, qualifying long residential leasehold properties in England and Wales.  

This means that anyone buying a property on a new long lease cannot be charged anything more than a single peppercorn.  

Until recently, less scrupulous homebuilders were selling properties on long leases with excessively increasing ground rents.  In some instances, companies such as Taylor Wimpey were found to have sold leases with ground rents that doubled as often as every ten years.   

The changes in the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 will not be retrospective, but this news will be much welcomed by new homebuyers. 

For existing Leaseholders, the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 still entitles qualifying Leaseholders to a 90 year lease extension at a Peppercorn (Zero) Ground rent.  

The hypothetical collection of an item by a Freeholder, whether it is a Peppercorn, a single Red Rose or a Crab was often used to validate a lease contract and would help to prevent any claim for possession. Nowadays the phrase “Peppercorn” is simply understood to mean zero ground rent.  

Henry Adams have a team of Chartered Surveyors and RICS Registered Valuers based in Chichester that work closely with our network of offices across Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire to provide unrivalled professional advice based on sound local knowledge.  

We have produced a useful guide to extending your lease which can be viewed here: https://www.henryadams.co.uk/extending-your-lease 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Henry Adams on 01243 215840 should you wish to discuss any aspect of the above or if you would like assistance in extinguishing your ground rent.