The Conveyancing Association is calling for 2017 to be the year for leasehold reform after research showed sales involving leases caused long delays.

The trade body cited research by conveyancer My Home Move which has reported a 20-day delay on leasehold sales and 14 days on leasehold purchases, measured across a sample of 4,000 cases.

Some common reasons for extra delays in the leasehold process included identifying the lease administrator, establishing the fee they require to complete the Leasehold Property Enquiries Form, obtaining the fee from the seller, receiving the information back from the lease administrator and waiting for them to register the leasehold

It follows a House of Commons debate last month on leasehold and commonhold issues where housing minister Gavin Barwell said he was “not comfortable” with the current situation around high fee levels, delays, extortionate ground rents, and perceived lack of client knowledge and information.

Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, said: “One can’t help but feel that last year’s debate at the House of Commons represented a pivotal moment for securing real change in the leasehold process.

“Following up on the fantastic work of the All Party Parliamentary Group, the debate highlighted many of the problems and issues we have been campaigning about for some time, and there was an assurance from Mr Barwell that the Government would be putting plans in place to deal with these abuses.

“Much of the focus has been on escalating ground rents on new-build properties, and whilst an important issue to confront, we will be seeking to ensure that all other leasehold problems such as the unreasonable fees routinely charged by some lease administrators, and the delays inherent within the process, are also addressed.”