Three women have successfully campaigned for significant changes to the leasehold system in England and Wales. These new laws aim to make home ownership fairer for many people across the country.
Three women in England and Wales have successfully campaigned for big changes to the leasehold system. This system caused many homeowners unexpected costs and made their homes difficult to sell.
Katie Kendrick, Cath Williams, and Jo Darbyshire were among those affected by rising fees and ground rents. They found themselves trapped, unable to sell their homes due to these unfair costs.
Cath Williams, for example, learned her home was leasehold late in the process and faced huge price increases to buy her freehold. Many others joined their National Leasehold Campaign, which grew to 34,000 members.
Their hard work led to the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act in 2022, which stopped ground rents for most new homes. This was a significant step towards making home ownership fairer.
More recently, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act of 2024 increased lease extension terms to 990 years and removed some fees. A new bill in 2026 will ban new leasehold flats and cap ground rents for existing ones.
