Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to introduce a cap on service charges.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 24536 on 8 May 2024.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help leaseholders in properties which are of no value due to remediation costs on service charges.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Qualifying leaseholders in relevant buildings are protected in law from all costs associated with the remediation of unsafe cladding. For non-cladding building safety defects there are protections for leaseholders in relevant buildings with a qualifying lease.
This means that for the majority of qualifying leaseholders, their maximum cap for non-cladding remediation and interim measures is £15,000 in Greater London (or £10,000 elsewhere in England). In addition, all leaseholders in relevant buildings benefit from qualifying lease status for their principal residence.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support is available for tenants in dispute with local authorities on damp and mould issues.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is unacceptable for anyone to have to live in damp and mouldy conditions. Damp and mould can have a serious impact on the health of tenants. That is why the Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing, including local authorities, setting out his expectations that they go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard and have particular regard to damp and mould. He also wrote to local authority chief executives and council leaders making it clear they must take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.
Social housing tenants of local authorities who are unsatisfied with their landlord’s response to their complaint on damp and mould can raise their issue with the Housing Ombudsman. Our new guidance on damp and mould can also be accessed by tenants at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers.
We have committed to introducing ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will set requirements for social landlords to investigate and fix hazards such as damp and mould in social housing. Our consultation on Awaab’s Law closed on 5 March and we will bring forward secondary legislation to bring this into force as soon as practicable.
We have also given local authorities strong legal powers to use where privately rented or housing association houses or flats are in a seriously dangerous condition, including through damp and mould.