Leaseholders clash with lobby group over leasehold reforms

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Leaseholders clash with lobby group over leasehold reforms

Leaseholders have slammed a “shadowy lobbyist group” for its last-ditch attempt to derail leasehold reform.

The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) has hit out at a freeholder group for challenging the government’s reforms and threatening legal action.

The move comes as the government has announced a range of leasehold reforms, including a legal right for leaseholders to request fast broadband connections and a simplified process for converting leasehold flats to commonhold.

Direct opposition to government’s leasehold reforms

A story in The Times reveals that public relations (PR) firm Spreckley launched a group called Justice for Property Rights, made up of “small property investors, retirees, shared freeholders and long-term savers”, which was set up in “direct opposition to” the government’s leasehold reforms.

It was formed because “public debate has become overly focused on a small number of large estates and institutional investors”.

However, The Times reports that Spreckley declined to disclose who is paying for its work on the campaign.

It said Justice for Property Rights is “funded by private individuals and SMEs, not large landowners or institutional freeholders”. The firm added that the funders did not wish to disclose their identities.

Lawfare by vested interests

The NLC have criticised the “faceless group” for trying to derail the government’s reforms.

Katie Kendrick OBE, founder of the National Leasehold Campaign, said: “This isn’t grassroots campaigning, it’s lawfare by vested interests using anonymous fronts to protect profits and delay justice for millions of leaseholders.

“It is frankly astonishing, but entirely predictable, that yet another anonymous campaign group has emerged at the eleventh hour to threaten legal action against long-overdue leasehold reform.

“There is a clear and growing pattern. Time and again, loosely defined groups present themselves as ‘property rights or ‘freeholder’ campaigners yet refuse to disclose who is funding or driving them. They remain faceless instead of standing openly behind their positions and appear only when reform threatens their interests.

“When shadowy groups appear at the eleventh hour, it’s not democracy, it’s lawfare designed to stall reform and protect vested interests.”

She added: “The public must not be distracted by anonymous voices seeking to defend outdated privileges. Leaseholders have waited long enough.

“The government must stand firm, resist this lawfare, and accelerate the delivery of leasehold reform to finally bring this broken system to an end.”

Longstanding inequities of leasehold

The news comes as the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee has scrutinised the government’s draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, saying it needs to go further.

In response to the bill, the committee welcomed protections for leaseholders but warned that key recommendations previously made by the Law Commission are missing from the draft legislation.

Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the HCLG Committee, said: “Millions of leaseholders have been waiting too long for successive governments to tackle the unfair leasehold system, cap ground rents, and put homeowners in control of the management of their buildings.

“It is vital the government now recognises this urgency by bringing forward revised legislation to deliver justice for leaseholders as soon as possible.

“I urge the government to introduce the final bill in autumn 2026 so this will be the Parliament which finally tackles the longstanding inequities of leasehold.”

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