Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects the remaining provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 relating to the regulation of service charges to be brought into force; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure leaseholders are protected from excessive or unreasonable service charges in the interim.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has already made significant progress when it comes to commencing provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024:
The government recognises the considerable financial strain that rising service charges place on leaseholders and tenants. The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building. By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Overcharging through service charges is completely unacceptable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. It also proposed new reforms the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.
On 18 December 2025, the government launched a consultation on proposals to implement the Act’s new consumer protections for homeowners living on freehold estates. These include ensuring that homeowners who pay an estate management charge have better access to information they need to understand what they are paying for, the right to challenge the reasonableness at the First-tier Tribunal (in England), and to go to the tribunal to appoint a substitute manager. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 12 March 2026. We will look to bring these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter.
The Act also sets the method for calculating the price of a statutory lease extension or freehold acquisition, known as the valuation process. It removes the requirement for marriage value to be paid, caps the treatment of ground rents in the valuation calculation at 0.1% of the freehold value, and allows government to prescribe the rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium. Valuation rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium will be set by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation. We will consult on valuation rates and commence the relevant provisions as soon as possible. As per my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), primary legislation will be required to rectify a small number of specific flaws in the 2024 Act before the Act’s enfranchisement provisions are commenced.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps through the next Spending Review to increase the level of funding for the provision of social housing for homeless people.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 30393 on 24 February 2025 for more detail on the steps we have already taken to increase social and affordable housebuilding.
We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on trends in the number of people who have been evicted from their homes following rent increases in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 34191 on 10 March 2025.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of Afghan refugees previously housed in interim hotel accommodation have spent one or more nights sleeping rough since leaving that accommodation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
On the number of Afghan households previously housed in Home Office interim hotel accommodation who have since become homeless, please refer to our response from 20 December 2023 to Question UIN 6726.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not collect data on the number of Afghan households previously housed in Home Office provided interim hotel accommodation who have slept rough since leaving that accommodation.
The Department does not regularly publish data on Afghan homelessness.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Afghan refugees previously housed in interim hotel accommodation have been made homeless since leaving that accommodation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
On the number of Afghan households previously housed in Home Office interim hotel accommodation who have since become homeless, please refer to our response from 20 December 2023 to Question UIN 6726.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not collect data on the number of Afghan households previously housed in Home Office provided interim hotel accommodation who have slept rough since leaving that accommodation.
The Department does not regularly publish data on Afghan homelessness.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if their Department will publish an Ethnicity Pay Gap Report for financial year 2023-24 in line with the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance for employers published on 17 April 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Cabinet Office is working with other government departments to consider the details of the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance published in April. More generally the Civil Service is undertaking extensive work both centrally and within departments to promote diversity across its workplaces, including ethnicity.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department provides to disabled people who require adaption works to their homes costing more than the £30,000 cap on the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a shared responsibility with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) given that funding for the grant is provided through the Better Care Fund. Officials from both departments meet regularly with a range of stakeholders interested in this policy.
Local areas already have discretion to increase the cap on the grant on a case-by-case basis in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the grant, government will keep the upper limit under review.
We do not hold official statistics regarding the number of applications for the DFG submitted and approved in each year from 2010, or the numbers of applications since 2010 that have been submitted for either the maximum amount of £30,000 or for amounts between £25,000-£29,999. However, my Department funds a National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, Foundations who publish an annual report which analyses unaudited, voluntary data from Local Authorities which you may find useful. These reports can be found here.
Since 2010 government has invested £4.8 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2022-23), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations.
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F/Year | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | Total |
Amount | £169m | £200m | £220m | £200m | £185m | £220m | £394m | £473m* | £523m** | £505m | £573m*** | £573m | £573m | £4.8bn |
No of DFGs | 45,383 | 43,986 | 36,874 | 42,586 | 40,645 | 40,800 | 46,000 | 47,850 | 53,500 | 58,181 | 38,566 | TBC | TBC | 494,371 |
I recognise that for some home adaptations the cost of the works can be higher. Where this is the case, and where an authority has a locally published Housing Assistance Policy, authorities can take a local decision to provide grants above the existing £30,000 limit on a case-by-case basis. However, I must be clear that these discretionary grants are a local decision, and I am unable to intervene in individual cases.
In addition to providing expert support and advice to local authorities, Foundations also regularly provide information and advice to individual disabled people on applying for a DFG, including advice around other sources of financial support. More information can be found here.
* £431m annual grant plus an additional £42m announced in Autumn Budget 2017
**£468m annual grant plus an additional £55m announced in Budget 2018
***£505m annual grant plus an additional £68m paid to LAs in December 2020
**** Source: Foundations, the national body for home improvement agencies
Footnote: Local authorities in England provide annual data on their DFG delivery, however the data is not audited, and local authorities provide this information on a voluntary basis. The headline totals above are based on estimates provided by Foundations which have been extrapolated from the available data.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many applications for the Disabled Facilities Grant were (a) submitted and (b) approved in each year from 2010 for which figures are available.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a shared responsibility with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) given that funding for the grant is provided through the Better Care Fund. Officials from both departments meet regularly with a range of stakeholders interested in this policy.
Local areas already have discretion to increase the cap on the grant on a case-by-case basis in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the grant, government will keep the upper limit under review.
We do not hold official statistics regarding the number of applications for the DFG submitted and approved in each year from 2010, or the numbers of applications since 2010 that have been submitted for either the maximum amount of £30,000 or for amounts between £25,000-£29,999. However, my Department funds a National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, Foundations who publish an annual report which analyses unaudited, voluntary data from Local Authorities which you may find useful. These reports can be found here.
Since 2010 government has invested £4.8 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2022-23), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations.
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F/Year | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | Total |
Amount | £169m | £200m | £220m | £200m | £185m | £220m | £394m | £473m* | £523m** | £505m | £573m*** | £573m | £573m | £4.8bn |
No of DFGs | 45,383 | 43,986 | 36,874 | 42,586 | 40,645 | 40,800 | 46,000 | 47,850 | 53,500 | 58,181 | 38,566 | TBC | TBC | 494,371 |
I recognise that for some home adaptations the cost of the works can be higher. Where this is the case, and where an authority has a locally published Housing Assistance Policy, authorities can take a local decision to provide grants above the existing £30,000 limit on a case-by-case basis. However, I must be clear that these discretionary grants are a local decision, and I am unable to intervene in individual cases.
In addition to providing expert support and advice to local authorities, Foundations also regularly provide information and advice to individual disabled people on applying for a DFG, including advice around other sources of financial support. More information can be found here.
* £431m annual grant plus an additional £42m announced in Autumn Budget 2017
**£468m annual grant plus an additional £55m announced in Budget 2018
***£505m annual grant plus an additional £68m paid to LAs in December 2020
**** Source: Foundations, the national body for home improvement agencies
Footnote: Local authorities in England provide annual data on their DFG delivery, however the data is not audited, and local authorities provide this information on a voluntary basis. The headline totals above are based on estimates provided by Foundations which have been extrapolated from the available data.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many approved applications in each year for the Disabled Facilities Grant were for (a) the maximum amount of £30,000 and (b) £25,000 to £29,999 in each year from 2010 for which figures are available.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a shared responsibility with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) given that funding for the grant is provided through the Better Care Fund. Officials from both departments meet regularly with a range of stakeholders interested in this policy.
Local areas already have discretion to increase the cap on the grant on a case-by-case basis in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the grant, government will keep the upper limit under review.
We do not hold official statistics regarding the number of applications for the DFG submitted and approved in each year from 2010, or the numbers of applications since 2010 that have been submitted for either the maximum amount of £30,000 or for amounts between £25,000-£29,999. However, my Department funds a National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, Foundations who publish an annual report which analyses unaudited, voluntary data from Local Authorities which you may find useful. These reports can be found here.
Since 2010 government has invested £4.8 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2022-23), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations.
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F/Year | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | Total |
Amount | £169m | £200m | £220m | £200m | £185m | £220m | £394m | £473m* | £523m** | £505m | £573m*** | £573m | £573m | £4.8bn |
No of DFGs | 45,383 | 43,986 | 36,874 | 42,586 | 40,645 | 40,800 | 46,000 | 47,850 | 53,500 | 58,181 | 38,566 | TBC | TBC | 494,371 |
I recognise that for some home adaptations the cost of the works can be higher. Where this is the case, and where an authority has a locally published Housing Assistance Policy, authorities can take a local decision to provide grants above the existing £30,000 limit on a case-by-case basis. However, I must be clear that these discretionary grants are a local decision, and I am unable to intervene in individual cases.
In addition to providing expert support and advice to local authorities, Foundations also regularly provide information and advice to individual disabled people on applying for a DFG, including advice around other sources of financial support. More information can be found here.
* £431m annual grant plus an additional £42m announced in Autumn Budget 2017
**£468m annual grant plus an additional £55m announced in Budget 2018
***£505m annual grant plus an additional £68m paid to LAs in December 2020
**** Source: Foundations, the national body for home improvement agencies
Footnote: Local authorities in England provide annual data on their DFG delivery, however the data is not audited, and local authorities provide this information on a voluntary basis. The headline totals above are based on estimates provided by Foundations which have been extrapolated from the available data.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with disability rights organisations on the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a shared responsibility with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) given that funding for the grant is provided through the Better Care Fund. Officials from both departments meet regularly with a range of stakeholders interested in this policy.
Local areas already have discretion to increase the cap on the grant on a case-by-case basis in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the grant, government will keep the upper limit under review.
We do not hold official statistics regarding the number of applications for the DFG submitted and approved in each year from 2010, or the numbers of applications since 2010 that have been submitted for either the maximum amount of £30,000 or for amounts between £25,000-£29,999. However, my Department funds a National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, Foundations who publish an annual report which analyses unaudited, voluntary data from Local Authorities which you may find useful. These reports can be found here.
Since 2010 government has invested £4.8 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2022-23), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations.
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| **** |
F/Year | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | 14-15 | 15-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | Total |
Amount | £169m | £200m | £220m | £200m | £185m | £220m | £394m | £473m* | £523m** | £505m | £573m*** | £573m | £573m | £4.8bn |
No of DFGs | 45,383 | 43,986 | 36,874 | 42,586 | 40,645 | 40,800 | 46,000 | 47,850 | 53,500 | 58,181 | 38,566 | TBC | TBC | 494,371 |
I recognise that for some home adaptations the cost of the works can be higher. Where this is the case, and where an authority has a locally published Housing Assistance Policy, authorities can take a local decision to provide grants above the existing £30,000 limit on a case-by-case basis. However, I must be clear that these discretionary grants are a local decision, and I am unable to intervene in individual cases.
In addition to providing expert support and advice to local authorities, Foundations also regularly provide information and advice to individual disabled people on applying for a DFG, including advice around other sources of financial support. More information can be found here.
* £431m annual grant plus an additional £42m announced in Autumn Budget 2017
**£468m annual grant plus an additional £55m announced in Budget 2018
***£505m annual grant plus an additional £68m paid to LAs in December 2020
**** Source: Foundations, the national body for home improvement agencies
Footnote: Local authorities in England provide annual data on their DFG delivery, however the data is not audited, and local authorities provide this information on a voluntary basis. The headline totals above are based on estimates provided by Foundations which have been extrapolated from the available data.