I did not say that at all. I said that I would have thought that the noble Lord would welcome an opt-out from the ECHR on this. If that is not the case, I am happy to accept what he says.
Going back to marriage value, I do not think that marriage value should be replaced with a deferment rate that makes lease extensions even more expensive than they are now, because the deferment rate that the Government are talking about setting is merely marriage value by another name, and it can end up with leaseholders paying even more for lease extensions than they pay now, because it depends on the rate. In my view, His Majesty’s Government should completely abolish the outmoded concept of marriage value based not on what a property is currently valued at but on what a freeholder imagines it may be worth in the future. However, I welcome the Government’s commitment to an online calculator, so at least leaseholders know what the cost of extending their lease might be.
I listened carefully to the Minister’s opening speech, and I hope that she can assure the House that, when the Bill becomes law, it will indeed be cheaper and easier for existing leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold. The greater transparency on charges, including insurance, and the end of the unfair presumption of leaseholders always paying all the landlord’s legal costs is a step forward. As it stands, the system is heavily weighted in favour of the landlord or freeholder. Any legal challenge is fraught with risk, uncertain and extremely costly. Very few leaseholders attempt it. As noble Lords have said, the stories of excessive and padded service charges and extortionate insurance premiums are legion and endemic. These abuses must be brought to an end as soon and as far as humanly possible.
The extension of right to manage in residential blocks is long overdue. I do not accept that mixed residential and commercial blocks cannot be managed by right-to-manage companies, or that investments will dry up as those who live or invest in such blocks are given more say over how they are run.
I regret the absence of the regulation of property management agents, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, has repeatedly raised, or even an insistence that they should be trained and qualified. Property agents can control millions of pounds, and the standards of some of them are unbelievably poor. I know of no other body that manages potentially such large sums of other people’s money that is wholly unregulated. Voluntary codes and redress schemes are not enough.
Commonhold is once again being insufficiently promoted by His Majesty’s Government, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, and others, including the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage. It may be unpopular with developers but I believe it offers a realistic alternative to the flawed leasehold system.
On forfeiture clauses in leasehold, which a number of noble Lords and the Minister mentioned, although I agree that no one should lose their home for service charge arrears of a few hundred pounds—these can be dealt with by the county court and bailiffs—forfeiture clauses can be a useful deterrent to other breaches of the lease that are otherwise difficult to enforce, such as persistent anti-social behaviour. I look forward to these and other issues being fully debated as the Bill progresses through your Lordships’ House.
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