BBC Documentaries

The True Cost of Leasehold (2024x186)

: 22, 2024

Millions of people up and down the country are living in leasehold homes – paying, in some cases, huge amounts of money to companies which own the land and sometimes even the buildings they live in. And a growing number are calling for an end to a system that they say is broken and unfair. In this programme, Hayley Hassall meets those living in the north west who say they are trapped in leasehold homes with unexpected fees and service charges that mean it can be virtually impossible to sell the property. Others are being asked to foot the bill for expensive maintenance repairs, or caught in the middle of rows over the removal of flammable cladding from their buildings. Is enough being done to protect leaseholders from exploitation? And if this complex system is eventually scrapped, who will pay the building owners who stand to lose billions?