In a widely anticipated announcement, the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP today confirmed plans to abolish the selling of new houses as leasehold properties and reduce ground rents for new leases to zero, not the £10pa previously considered.

In a wide-ranging speech, the Secretary of State also announced that the fee for pre-sale enquiry information provided by freeholders and managing agents will be capped to £200 and must be provided within a new time limit of 15 working days. We assume (but have not yet confirmed) that the £200 sum will include VAT.

Finally and following the lead from the Welsh Government, the Secretary of State has also instructed Homes England to renegotiate Help to Buy contracts to explicitly rule out the selling of new leasehold houses.

For further information, see the government press release statement here.