1)Ground rent is a form of exploitation, particularly when it is set to double over the life of a lease every 10,15,20 or 25 years 2)The government supports setting ground rent to zero on new leases: a disparity of treatment between old and new leases would put existing leases at disadvantage
No service is essentially provided in return for ground rent payments
Freeholders already receive an income when lease is extended
Setting ground rent to zero would likely reduce rent charged to tenants by leaseholder landlords
As an alternative the government should set the maximum ground rent to £200 per year over the life of the lease
Leasehold properties with increasing ground rents are more difficult to sell as lenders are reluctant to approve mortgages to buy these properties