On Thursday, I spoke in a debate on leasehold reform. Many of my constituents have been trapped in exploitative leasehold contracts after buying their house. These homes are often sold to people under the guise that they will own the property and the grounds, or the freehold, only later to find themselves burdened with ever rising ground rents and service charges put on them by the freeholder – often a freeholder management company with the sole purpose of exploiting leaseholders by squeezing as much profit out of them for their shareholders as possible.
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There is no need for these new houses to be sold as leasehold. Often the “services” that they are charged for by the freehold company are never carried out, and the cost of getting out of these contracts by buying the freehold is extortionately high. I’ve been campaigning for a long time to press the Government to put an end to this unscrupulous practice and was glad to see some progress with the consultation that was set up. But with the Government in tatters, this all seems to have ground to a halt. For my constituents still being exploited by these contracts, this isn’t good enough. Only a Labour Government will put an end to this practice once and for all.