The new Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has revealed that he is preparing a crackdown on leasehold properties.
The action is expected to come within the next few weeks, offering hope to thousands of homeowners trapped in leaseholds.
The Government intervention is expected to put more pressure on major housebuilders who have been criticised previously for making huge profits and paying large bonuses to company bosses whilst failing to fix the housing crisis in Britain.
In a leasehold property, the homeowner owns the property but the land it is built on is owned by the developer, meaning they can sell it on to third parties.
The previous Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire, implemented rules banning the sale of new-build homes as leasehold. However, homeowners and campaigners want the action to extend to existing leaseholders who feel trapped by these deals.
There are more than four million leasehold properties in England. Campaigners estimate 100,000 homeowners are locked into onerous leases.
Robert Jenrick said: “’Buying a home is one of the biggest and most important purchases people ever make and so it’s essential buyers understand the contract they are signing and receive good quality advice from their professional advisers and the salespeople they are dealing with.
“We have committed to reducing ground rents on future leases to zero and to legislating to ensure that in the future, except for in the most exceptional circumstances, all new houses will be sold on a freehold basis.
“We have already seen a significant reduction in the number of new leasehold properties to as low as two per cent of all new homes.”