Liberal Democrats plan to regulate the wild west of the service charge and property management industry. We would: 

1. Regulate the construction industry by: 

a) Establishing rights for homebuyers, to ensure there is no way for developers or building insurers to avoid accountability for rectifying defects. 

b) Strengthening accountability to prevent reckless sign–off by building inspectors. 

2. Regulate the property management sector by: 

a) Taking forward recommendations from the independent Lord Best report, including a new property regulator responsible for establishing: 

i) A code of practice for and licensing of property managers and agents. 

ii) Minimum qualifications for property agencies, managers and agents. 

iii) Standard industry cost codes for leaseholders and freeholders, and the power to block a landlord’s chosen managing agent where the leaseholders have reasonably exercised a veto. 

iv) Standardised guidance to improve transparency about what charges cover. 

b) Capping unreasonable service and estate management charges paid by residents and urgently abolishing ground rents for existing residential leases. 

c) Enabling leaseholders to request alternative quotes for maintenance, where the freeholder is a local authority. 

d) Giving residents the power to act in common to take on ownership of management companies and common areas. 

e) Mandating management companies to hold AGMs and respond to residents’ correspondence in a timely way.

3. Strengthen local authorities’ power to: 

a) Adopt shared roadways and public spaces to prevent residents paying for the upkeep of expensive assets through estate management fees, recouping the cost of their completion from the developer or landowner. 

b) Sanction developers who fail to complete roads and other infrastructure.

c) Enforce private landlords’ and management companies’ obligations to remediate