Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress he has made on guidance for unaccompanied minors applying under the Homes for Ukraine Visa scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The most up to date guidance for unaccompanied minors can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils .
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the supply of (a) affordable and (b) social housing.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We are committed to increasing the supply of affordable homes and are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing. This is the largest investment in affordable housing since 2010.
This includes our new Affordable Homes Programme which will provide up to 180,000 affordable homes - should economic conditions allow. Around 32,000 of these will be homes for social rent.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to bring almshouse residents’ rights in line with tenants' rights.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The legal position of residents of almshouses is that they have a licence to occupy rather than a tenancy. This was decided in the case of Gray v Taylor (1998) in which the Court of Appeal held that the resident in that case occupied an almshouse as the beneficiary of a charity. This meant that she was not a tenant and only had a licence to occupy. In the case of Watts v Stewart and Ors, 2016, the Court of Appeal followed the judgment in Gray v Taylor that almshouse residents have a licence to occupy and that the grant of a tenancy would be inconsistent with the performance of the duties of the trustees, as it would not be possible for them to ensure that only qualifying persons occupied the almshouses. The trustees could only properly discharge the trusts of the charity, which limited its objects to those in need, hardship or distress, if a personal revocable licence was granted. As occupants of almhouses are licencees, the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 will apply. This requires that 4 weeks’ notice to quit must be given to the occupant.
Where almshouses are registered with the Regulator of Social Housing, they must also comply with the regulator's standards framework. The Tenancy Standard https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419209/Tenancy_Standard_2015.pdf) compels Private Registered Providers to offer tenancies or terms of occupation which are compatible with the purpose of the accommodation, the needs of individual households, the sustainability of the community, and the efficient use of their housing stock.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will provide funding for the repair of unsafe cladding on (a) buildings under 18m in height with flammable external cladding and (b) buildings with no freeholders or owners where the building has fallen to the Crown Estate.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is focusing public grant funding on remediating unsafe cladding on high rise buildings of 18 metres or over. This reflects the exceptional fire risk that certain cladding products pose at that height, as previously noted by Dame Judith Hackitt observed in her independent report.
The Government also has announced a generous financing scheme which will mean that buildings of 11-18 metres in height will have access to finance for the remediation of unsafe cladding, with a commitment that leaseholders will not need to pay more than £50 a month towards this. By providing this financing scheme we are ensuring that money is available for remediation, accelerating the process and making homes safer as quickly as possible.
Where a property has become ownerless, The Crown Estate can, subject to certain requirements, make arrangements to return the property to private ownership. The private owner would then be able to apply for the Government schemes available, subject to meeting the usual eligibility requirements.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
What steps he is taking to protect leaseholders from the costs of remediating buildings from unsafe cladding.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have made available an unprecedented £5 billion investment in building safety, including £3.5 billion announced last week. This will fund the cost of replaying unsafe cladding in all buildings 18 metres and over.
Lower-rise buildings will gain new protection from the costs of cladding removal through a Government-backed financing arrangement, and no leaseholder will ever pay more than £50 a month towards the removal of unsafe cladding.