Recent reports in the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership have highlighted some new leasehold houses have clauses allowing ground rent currently £295 per year to double every 10 years.  Early buyers with such clauses in their leases will have trouble selling them as a simple arithmetic calculation shows that by 2060 the ground rent would be £9 440 per year.

Such leases are likely to be challenged in the FTT in the years to come and provide the fertile material for ground breaking court cases when such clauses become unsustainable.  Challenge by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership asked why any houses should be sold leasehold and that £1.9 billion of leasehold houses were built last year according to the Land Registry.

Leasehold for houses or flats continues because it provides ongoing income for property developers and contributes to a constant supply of new homes being built.