In our blog on the 28th of June, we reported that following the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation, Aviva had announced that they would be dis-applying doubling rent clauses in new build home leases that they had purchased from developers.
The housing developers, Countryside Properties, have now also said that they will scrap doubling rent clauses in their leases. They will keep rents at the same level as when leaseholders first bought their homes.
The CMA had launched their investigation in 2019 due to concern about housebuilders issuing leases that provided for doubling of ground rent every 10-15 years. The CMA then launched enforcement action against four housing developers in September 2020, including Countryside. The enforcement action against Countryside was for using “possibly unfair contract terms”.
The inclusion of the doubling rent clauses has made homes difficult, or impossible to sell and mortgage. Countryside Properties announcement will be welcome news to home owners who have felt trapped in homes that they are struggle to sell.
The CMA investigation into other developers is ongoing. Hopefully, other developers will follow Aviva and Countryside and dis-apply doubling ground rent clauses.
The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
