Shabnam Ali-Khan finds inspiration in the Italian condominium model of living
- Commonhold, as proposed in the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, can succeed as long as the final regime is practical, transparent and legally robust.
- Italy’s long-established condominio model suggests that clearer rules on governance, owner obligations and enforceability are required.
In January, the government published a Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, describing it as an important step in the government’s long-stated aim to modernise tenure structures in England and Wales.
The draft Bill, published as a policy paper, sets out to reinvigorate and reform the commonhold model, making it easier for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold should they wish to do so, and banning the use of leasehold for most new flats from a future date. The Bill also caps ground rents at £250 a year for 40 years before becoming a peppercorn and repeals the enforcement powers that apply to estate rent charges on freehold estates. The government consultation on these issues, ‘Moving to commonhold: banning leasehold for new flats’, ended in April
