The vast majority of landlords hope commonhold will prove vital to improvements in the sector.
Almost half of the landlords polled (46%) said they were hoping for lower service charges under the new system. More specifically, just over a fifth (21%) said they were looking forward to better maintained buildings and the opportunity to charge higher rents as a result.
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, which conducted the poll, said: “It’s clear where landlord preferences lie: nine in ten landlords believe commonhold could slash service charges and deliver blocks that actually stay in top shape.
“Nearly half are banking on lower bills, while one in five see better-maintained buildings unlocking higher rents and happier tenants. The Government has lit the fuse; now landlords want them to deliver.”
A white paper published in March stated the sale of new leasehold flats would be banned and commonhold “reinvigorated” with a new legal framework.
In March the government said it would ban the sale of new leasehold homes by the end of this parliament, in what ministers described as the end for a centuries-old “feudal system”.
The government says it wants to move to a system of home ownership that is more in line with the rest of the world, known as commonhold, where homeowners own a share of and have control over the buildings in which they live.
Under the current leasehold system, third-party landlords known as freeholders own the building and a leaseholder buys the right to occupy a flat within it for a fixed time period.
Landbay asked landlords if there were practical reasons that would prevent them from embracing commonhold.
Almost half mentioned the threat of mismanagement by commonholders (49%) while a similar number worried about the need to secure 100% agreement among leaseholders (49%).
More than a quarter (26%) were worried about their lack of liquidity and said they wouldn’t have the cash reserves. Just over a fifth (22%) said their current freeholder ran their property well.
Previous polling from Landbay found that nearly two-thirds of landlords (64%) do not believe the government could deliver leasehold reform by the end of this parliament.