Rishi Sunak has vowed to “fight for every vote” as he called an early UK general election for Thursday 4 July. The PM made the announcement in a rain-soaked speech outside 10 Downing Street on 22 May, as he bids to win a fifth term in office for the Conservatives.

The surprise move overturned expectations of an autumn poll, which might have given the Tories a better chance of closing the gap with Labour. However, if you think the Conservatives have a chance of staying in power after the summer, you can get odds of 20/1 on most UK betting sites, and it is likely that once Sunak saw that he only had a 5% chance of keeping his job a few months from now he opted for an early exit to his luxury penthouse in Santa Monica. 

Industry reaction 

Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation, comments: “Investors need certainty. An earlier election will give us that and is a golden opportunity to reset the relationship between the real estate sector and the next Government, as called for in the BPF’s manifesto ‘Building our Future’. 

“The BPF’s 2024 Election Manifesto Building our Future, calls for a new partnership between the property industry and the next Government to tackle four key policy areas: Building for Growth and Productivity, Building More Homes, Building Stronger Town Centres, and Building the Green Economy.” 

Reacting to Sunak’s announcement, Paul Rickard, managing director at Pocket Living, says: “It will be a relief to the property industry and business more broadly that a general election has finally been called. The country desperately needs political certainty and a clear vision for both the economy and the housing crisis.

“The main political parties must not only address the underlying issues in the planning system, such as the lack of planning resource, but be bold enough to put forward more fundamental reforms. With little less than 2,500 SME homebuilders left in this country, the sector is staring into the eye of extinction and the need for pragmatic solutions has never been greater.

“For example, our research shows that Pocket’s small sites policy, which would speed up planning with a presumption in favour of development on small sites for SMEs, could offer a vital lifeline to the sector and deliver up to 1.6m new homes. This would be one of the most effective ways to increase the volume of housebuilding, increase local delivery and employment, get more people on to the housing ladder and is endorsed by all leading housebuilders.”

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has recently passed the Committee Stage of the House of Lords and was expected to have its Report Stage in that house on 5 June. It would have then had some months to reach Royal Assent before an anticipated Autumn election.

Linz Darlington, MD of leasehold extension specialists Homehold, shares his thoughts on the effect of the general election on this Bill. “The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was a Conservative manifesto promise in 2019, but their decision to de-prioritise the most important parts of their reform to the final session of parliament always carried the risk that it would not pass before the next general election. 

“The Bill has most recently passed the Committee Stage in the House of Lords and we anticipated that it would have its Report Stage on June 5 – which would have provided ample time for both houses to agree the contents before an Autumn election.

“Clearly for it to pass now, it will have to be prioritised during any wash-up period before parliament is dissolved on 30 May – and there is no guarantee this will happen. What is clear, is that even if the Bill is passed, it will not come into effect on a specified day. The drafting of the current Bill means it is up to the Secretary of State to decide when it comes into force.

“For this Bill to be of practical use for leaseholders, certainly from the perspective of lease extensions and freehold purchases, there is further work to be done in terms of Secondary Legislation before it can be implemented. It certainly won’t be the case that lease extensions will be cheaper next month than they are this month.

“Should Sunak’s government be re-elected, then we can assume that Leasehold Reform will be picked up in the new parliament – although perhaps with less emphasis on haste than we have seen in recent months.

“Labour’s stance on Leasehold Reform has been more aggressive in recent years: they previously promised to abolish leasehold in the first 100 days of a Labour government. However, in April, they u-turned on this promise, and after nearly 15 years out of power, it is highly likely that other legislation will be prioritised.

“For leaseholders who have been putting off doing a lease extension in the hope that the Conservatives would make it cheaper and easier in 2024, it seems likely they will be sorely disappointed.”