King’s Speech 2024 – what it means for conveyancers and other property professionals.
We are not talking about the big-ticket stuff – like House of Lords reform. Instead, we are focusing on the small-print in the Starmer agenda. The things which are likely to affect our day-to-day work. We also mention things which we would have expected to see mentioned in the King’s Speech, on which there has so far been silence. Here are the things which interest us.
A Planning and Infrastructure Bill
This is exciting. For too long, the ‘no’ lobby has been in the ascendancy. And all at a time of housing crisis. Planning has become two politicised. Planning pre-conditions have become long shopping lists, within a process which has become like treacle. Even so, the government’s announced proposals for reforming the planning system are modest: with the restoration of house-building targets and the reclassification of some parts of the green belt. When what is really required is a speeding up of the whole planning process. Which shouldn’t be problematic for a self-financing public service. We’re sure many developers would be willing to pay a little bit extra by way of planning-fees, to pay for the additional staff needed to get their applications through the system. And if it is blocked by local politicians, to get it quickly in front of a government-appointed planning inspector. Why should that be difficult?
Leasehold Reform
Some of it we have heard before. Like replacing a leasehold system which has existed for more than 1000 years by a new system of commonhold.  The legislation already exists in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.  But it didn’t work when Tony Blair tried to introduce it more than 20 years ago. Because nobody wanted it. So why will it work now? Despite its imperfections, residential leasehold is the most workable system for selling flats and maisonettes. So wouldn’t it be better just to make the reforms needed to get the existing residential leasehold system right, instead of trying to force something which nobody wants. At the moment, we are waiting for the new government to bring into force detailed provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which received royal assent in the last days of the Conservative government. But it is not just about bringing it into force, because the detail will be in the regulations which, as far as we’re aware, have yet to be published. So there is some work for the new government to do before that legislation can take effect. We are also expecting the new government to waste no time in pushing forward with the Renters Reform Bill, which had been tabled by the previous Conservative government but dropped as soon as the general election was called. It always seemed to us that the last government’s commitment to removing section 21 no-fault evictions was always a little half-hearted, we assume because of the landlord-lobby. Funny thing about the section 21 evictions process, was that it was not seen as problematic in 1989 when the private-rented sector was opened up, because the residential market was so different, with residential landlords competing with each other for the best tenants, not the other way round, as it is today. It meant that if, in 1989, you were a reputable tenant who was unlucky enough to be given the section 21 notice of eviction, there would be dozens of other potential landlords bidding to accommodate you. And remember, that in 1988, most councils still had their social rented stock.
Absences
As well as the reforms which the new government has announced, there are also some things missing, which we would have expected to find within the King’s Speech or other government announcements. We are surprised that there has been no mention at all of any scaling back of right-to-buy, not even from the crazy discounts introduced by the Cameron government. What is scandalous is that up to 40% of ex-right-to-buy properties are now in the hands of private landlords, meaning that local authorities are having to rent back ex-right-to-buy properties on their own estates, just to meet their statutory housing needs. What nonsense is that? Is our system of housing benefits really so generous that it can afford to throw money at private landlords, because there is no longer any significant affordable rented sector? No wonder first-time buyers and private renters have been priced out of the housing market. The other thing, for which there has been no mention, is any revamp of the measures brought in by the Gordon Brown government to bring long-term empty dwellings back into occupational use. The problem with Brown’s empty dwellings management orders, was that the whole process was too cumbersome to be of any use. At the last count there were approximately 260,000 empty dwellings in the UK. What a waste!
Legislative Agenda
We have also taken a few moments to look at the government bills which are currently before Parliament. Presently, there are only five government bills, most of which we think are uncontroversial. These include a new Arbitration Bill, building on the existing 1996 legislation, to restore London as the world’s arbitration capital. Who is going to argue with that? And there is also the bill to re-nationalise Britain’s railways. With only four clauses, this bill is astonishingly short for what has become one of the new government’s landmark policies. It does no more than prohibit a re-letting of existing railway franchises except to a government-owned company.
BRUCE AND HOLLY 