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<p>The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners
and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. The Government
is aware that homeowners could be subject to a possession order or the granting of
a lease of their home by the rentcharge owner over rentcharge arrears. As part of
our leasehold reform work we have committed to repeal Section 121 of the Law of Property
Act 1925 to ensure homeowners are not subjected to unfair possession orders.</p><p>Furthermore,
where people pay estate rentcharges, it is not right that these homeowners have limited
rights to challenge these costs. That is why the Government intends to legislate to
give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders
to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges as well as a right to apply
to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager to manage the provision of services
covered by estate rentcharges.</p><p>We are moving forward with legislation with these
measures.</p><p>Furthermore, the Government asked the Regulation of Property Agents
working group, chaired by Lord Best, to look at how service charges for leaseholders
- and estate rentcharges for resident freehold homeowners - could be made more transparent.
The group also considered in what circumstances other fees and charges, such as administration
charges or permission fees which affect both leaseholders and freeholders, are justified
or whether they should be capped or banned. The working group published its final
report to Government (see: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-property-agents-working-group-report"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-property-agents-working-group-report</a>).
We are considering the report’s recommendations and will announce next steps in due
course.</p>
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