Today’s King’s Speech has outlined the government’s intention to cap ground rents and make commonhold conversions easier, as it aims to reform the leasehold system.

The speech also detailed plans to bring forward legislation to increase long-term investment in social housing, via the Social Housing Renewal Bill.

The king said that the government “will seek to reinforce the long-term energy, defence and economic security of the United Kingdom as an essential component of strength on the world stage. This will include housing, which can be a source of insecurity for many people.”

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill which will aim to “transform the experience of homeownership for millions” by capping ground rents at £250, forbidding leasehold for new flats and implementing a new process for converting to commonhold.

The government said that “laws to deliver the manifesto commitment to put an end to the unfair and outdated leasehold system will give people more control over how they live in their own homes and provide stronger rights for homeowners”.

The king also announced that the government will bring forward a bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill].

Sarah Rowe, Head of Social Housing at law firm Freeths, is pleased with the announcements. She said: “Today’s King’s Speech makes it clear that property sector reform is no longer theoretical and is at long last moving into delivery! Sector will now need to adapt quickly to comply with the headline changes announced which include leasehold reforms with plans to cap ground rents and pivot towards commonhold could fundamentally reshape residential ownership and a ramping up of social housing intervention with further Right to Buy reforms and stronger tenant protections on the agenda.

“The fact that building safety remains a priority and that legislation to fast-track cladding remediation and tighten accountability will be most welcomed by the thousands of people still living in dangerous conditions and actively fighting for safer homes.”

Not everybody is pleased with the plans. A spokesman for the Residential Freehold Association said: “The government’s announcement in the King’s Speech that it intends to bring forward legislation to reform the leasehold system and cap existing ground rents represents a wholly unjustified interference with existing property rights which, if enacted, would seriously damage investor confidence in the UK housing market and send a dangerous and unprecedented signal to the wider institutional investment sector.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Justice for Property Rights, a group that represents “small investors and pensioners” whined that ground rents “are a long-established part of leasehold property contracts, forming part of the overall consideration paid for a lease rather than a fee for services. While issues have arisen in specific cases, particularly involving escalating rents, these have already been subject to regulatory intervention and market correction in recent years.”