§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Filkin):My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
On 14 July I made the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2004. The order will bring into force on 27 September 2004 the whole of the remainder of Part 1 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 except for Section 21(4) and (5).
I have today also laid before each House the Commonhold Regulations 2004 and the Commonhold (Land Registration) Rules 2004 with, in each case, an explanatory memorandum, which includes a regulatory impact assessment.
The combined effect of these instruments is that as from 27 September commonhold will be available in England and Wales as a new way of owning interdependent freehold properties, such as blocks of flats. It combines the security of freehold ownership with a robust standard legal framework for the management of common facilities. It will be an alternative to long leasehold ownership and will be equally available for residential and commercial property.
The implementation of commonhold fulfils a manifesto commitment made in 2001 and will increase housing choice.
To accompany the Commonhold Regulations my department has published non-statutory guidance. I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses. It is intended that the Land Registry Practice Guide in connection with the Commonhold (Land Registration) Rules will be published in the near future following the making of a fee order for commonhold applications. Copies of the regulations and the non-statutory guidance will be available on my department's website and copies of the rules will be available on Land Registry's website.