The idea
Many people own their homes on 999 year leases. They pay a small annual rent and the leaseholder has a technical interest in the land because the land will eventually be returned to him. The home owner is legally a tennant.
Increasingly leaseholders are coming up with ways of generating income at the expense of home owners. They ask to be told when property insurance is moved to a new insurer and charge an administration fee. They also get involved when property extensions are proposed and again charge a fee to review the plans.
The leaseholder has no realistic expectation of ever gaining a full interest in the house or other structures on the land. I would like to see a law passed to prevent landlords having any right to be consulted over matters such as insurance and extensions where a lease has more than 100 years to run.
There is a further measure I would like to see implemented in this area. Where a property is long leasehold or subject to a chief rent or the like, I would like to see homeowners having a right to purchase the freehold free from any fetter for a fixed fee equivalent to 10 years rental. Again, this right should only exist in the case of a lease where that lease has at least 100 years to run. This right should be capable of being exercised without legal costs by the use of govenment generated documents made available on a website.
Why is it important?
Put simply because an Englishmans home is his castle.