Labour backs millions of leaseholders with strengthened rights and protections against excessive service charges

Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, has welcomed that the Labour government that will give millions of homeowners across England and Wales stronger rights and protections over their homes.

Leaseholders are required to pay a service charge to cover the upkeep of shared areas in their building, however in too many cases they are left facing very unclear and unaffordable fees.

Demands for service charges are currently only required by law to include a limited amount of details, which can leave leaseholders in the dark over what services or works make up their bill.

This can leave leaseholders at risk of being overcharged for poor quality work, or out of pocket for work that has not been carried out in some of the worst cases, on top of existing cost of living pressures.

Beefing up rights and protections through the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill will ensure almost five million leaseholders in England and Wales have the transparency they need to better hold their landlords to account, with a greater breakdown of what their money is being spent on alongside other changes.

The government is pushing ahead to implement these reforms and is consulting over the best way forward to ensure they are robust, workable and protect leaseholders effectively.

Commenting on this Peter Lamb MP said:

“Over the last 15 years as a representative in Crawley, I have seen countless cases of residents trapped in a failing leasehold system, left subject to charges outside of their control while the property those charges are supposed to maintain decays.

“For years we waited for the last Government to deliver on their promise to act, only to be disappointed time-and-time again. As the town’s MP, I am delighted to have the chance to finally hand power back to the homeowners and bring an end to leasehold for new flats.”