Residents of a small village near Bath will be allowed to buy the freehold to their homes for the first time. Villagers in Newton St Loe will have the right to buy the freehold as part of the government’s recent 2024 Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act.
Much of Newton St Loe is part of the Duchy of Cornwall, a large estate owned by Prince William spanning 52,264 hectares of land and including over 600 residencies. In some cases, the Duchy of Cornwall has allowed residents to hold the leasehold but not the freehold to their homes. This means they don’t own their house outright but instead own the right to live there for a set number of years.
North East Somerset and Hanham MP Dan Norris said he was ‘delighted’ by the news: “It’s high time we moved into the 21st century. Newton St Loe is a great place to live, but for centuries residents have been denied the right to buy homes outright.
“This was an issue when I was previously the village’s local MP in the 1990s, and was one of the very first pieces of casework I got when re-elected in the summer. I am delighted that after years of campaigning, the Prince of Wales and Labour ministers have finally decided to act.”
The Labour government has argued that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act will improve the rights of leaseholders. For example, the act will jettison a rule where leaseholders can only buy a freehold or extend a lease after two years of leaseholding. This will go into effect in January.
Similarly, the government have vowed to end forfeiture, a practice the government’s website described as “disproportionate and draconian”. This is where a landlord can seize a home from a leaseholder if they break the rules.
The Duchy of Cornwall was founded during the reign of Edward III in 1337. To put this in perspective, the Duchy predates the invention of the printing press, the introduction of pineapples to England, and the Black Death.
Land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall is dotted around the UK in over 20 counties.
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