The UK government has called the "beginning of the end" for the leasehold property ownership system, with a switch of support to 'commonhold' ownership.
New leasehold flats will be banned under proposed law changes published in a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government white paper on Monday, with commonhold becoming the default tenure for homes.
Under leasehold ownership, third parties own the land or buildings and make decisions on behalf of homeowners, so one of Labour's manifesto promises was to phase the system out.
The government said in a statement today that in the meantime as the new legislation goes through the system, it will implement reforms to help people who own leasehold properties and are "suffering from unfair and unreasonable practices".
Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said the government will "do what is necessary to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end", by reinvigorating commonhold,.
He said this will "ensure that it is homeowners, not third-party landlords, who will own the buildings they live in and have a greater say in how their home is managed and the bills they pay".
New rules in the white paper include enabling commonhold to work for all types of property developments, including mixed-use buildings and allowing shared ownership homes within a commonhold.