Leasehold Reform

Lord Adonis Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Adonis (Lab)]

The issue of ground rents that the noble Baroness has just raised is fundamentally different from the issue of social rents. As the Government themselves recognise, it is totally unjustified to be charging exorbitant ground rents, for which landlords offer no services whatever, because they have been illegal with respect to new leases since the end of June. It is not just increases related to RPI—in some cases there are doubling clauses in contracts every 10 years, which leads to totally unsustainable increases for leaseholders. I strongly encourage the noble Baroness to take up this issue with the new Secretary of State.

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I assure the noble Lord that I will do that. I understand. That is why we brought in the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act in 2022, which came into force, as the noble Lord said, at the end of June. Things have changed and are changing, and as we are looking at capping social housing rents, I do not see any reason why we cannot look at—without any promises—ground rents as well.