Earlier this week, in the House of Commons, Michael Gove, Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "We hope, in the forthcoming King’s Speech, to introduce legislation to fundamentally reform the system. Leaseholders, not just in this case but in so many other cases, are held to ransom by freeholders. We need to end this feudal form of tenure and ensure individuals have the right to enjoy their own property fully."

Leasehold reform has been mooted for a number of years now and following the Law Commission's reports published in 2020, those advising clients on leasehold property have been waiting with baited breath to see if and when the proposed reforms may come to pass. In a series of recent announcements, Gove has affirmed plans to scrap the ‘feudal’ leasehold system and it now appears that the new legislation will be introduced in the next King’s Speech – which is currently set for Autumn of this year, until then, I have set out the background to the 'once in a generation' reform and the potential implications in an article in Estates Gazette here.