The issue of selling houses as leasehold was raised to the Prime Minister who replied.

“we will act to promote fairness for the growing number of leaseholders, but we will consult on a range of measures to tackle unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold, as the Housing Minister has said. Other than in certain exceptional circumstances, I do not see why new homes should not be built and sold with the freehold interest at the point of sale.”

In addition Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government, said the government is considering whether leasehold abuses could be included in a Consumer Protection Green Paper being prepared by the Dept. for Business.

This would be a significant step and could mean any abusive leasehold issue being brought to light could be addressed.

At the Home Builders Federation Policy conference, Javid also said “I will ensure that Help to Buy equity loan is only used to build homes sold on acceptable terms – you have to sell them on fair terms.”

This statement could mean putting a stop to selling houses as leasehold and also setting restrictions on levels of ground rents in flats sold under Help to Buy.

Greater protections for buyers and leaseholders is always welcome and this one is particularly important.