Leasehold Rip-Offs: does the CMA reach the parts that other agencies cannot?

[by Tola Amodu] Many years ago, there was an advertisement on TV suggesting that a certain alcoholic beverage – those showing their age will know which one – “refreshed the parts other beers cannot reach”. In a similar vein, it is just possible that the Competition and Markets Authority will manage to do something similar in the case of the sale of leasehold houses. The recent CMA report probing the activities of house builders and developers has focused on the unfair treatment of homeowners and the possible misleading of prospective buyers. Will the CMA be more effective than specific legislation for redressing the problem?