The housing department said it was extending a ban on ground rents for new leases to the retirement sector to protect the elderly from “uncertain and rip-off practices”A government U-turn on keeping retirement housebuilders exempt from a ban on charging ground rent has dealt a blow to McCarthy & Stone, the company which is being taken over by the US private equity firm Lone Star. The decision to reverse the exemption for retirement housebuilders was unexpectedly announced this morning as part of an overhaul of the controversial leasehold system in England. SponsoredGround rent charges on leaseholders by freehold property owners have been criticised as being too high across the housing industry. However, McCarthy has lobbied against a ban, saying it relies on millions of pounds of annual fees in ground rents to help pay for the construction of the communal areas it provides. The landlord charges an average annual ground rent of

Source: The Times January 07, 2021 17:03 UTC