Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to provide assistance to leaseholders who were misled on property purchases.
Answered by Esther McVey
The previous Secretary of State wrote to the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) on 26 November 2018 and 1 April 2019 to encourage them to undertake work into mis-selling in the leasehold housing market.
The government welcomed the CMA announcement on 11 June to open an investigation in this area. The CMA is concerned about potential leasehold mis-selling, and whether leasehold contract terms are onerous and unfair in relation to ground rent, permission and other charges. If the CMA thinks that a company’s practices are misleading – or that its contracts contain unfair clauses – it could take enforcement action to require the company to change how they operate. We look forward to hearing progress on the CMA’s work later this year.
The government has also worked with National Trading Standards who have published guidance to help clarify the rights and responsibilities around owning a leasehold property, and practical steps for individuals to take in the event things go wrong.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 make an assessment of the effectiveness of landlord registers operating in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Esther McVey
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of introducing a national landlord register for the private rented sector in England.
Answered by Esther McVey
The Government has no current plans to introduce a national landlord register, which could place an additional regulatory burden on landlords. The case would need to be made that such a register would drive up standards in the private rented sector. The Government is instead committed to improving the private rented sector by driving out criminal landlords and landlords who consistently neglect their responsibilities to provide safe and decent accommodation.
Local authorities already have a wide range of powers available to them including banning orders for the very worst offenders, civil penalties of up to £30,000 and a database of rogue landlords and property agents targeted at persistent and criminal offenders. To support the powers that local authorities already have we have provided £2.3 million in grant funding for local authorities to develop self-sustaining enforcement, released refreshed guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities on their rights and responsibilities and carried out a review of selective licensing.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 bring forward proposals obliging housing developers as a condition of planning consent to provide defibrillators (a) on site during the construction and (b) for use by residents following the completion of developments.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Planning conditions can enhance the quality and mitigate any adverse effects of a development, but local authorities are required to provide specific justification for every planning condition they impose as part of a planning permission. Conditions must also meet the policy tests for conditions as set in the National Planning Policy Framework. This states that a condition must be necessary, relevant to planning and to the development to be permitted, enforceable, precise and reasonable in all other aspects. There should not be duplication with other relevant regulatory frameworks which cover the development.
Planning conditions generally do not cover health and safety matters in relation to the construction of the development as these matters are subject to health and safety legislation. Although there is no absolute requirement under health and safety legislation for employers to provide defibrillators in the workplace, including construction sites, employers might identify the need for a defibrillator following the first aid needs assessment they are required to carry out under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. These regulations state that employers must provide the equipment and facilities they need to deliver adequate and appropriate first aid for their employees, if they are injured or become ill at work.
Residential developments are also subject to the building safety regime which prescribes clear safety standards and guidance for the construction and operation of new developments. Whilst Building Regulations are possibly not the most suitable way to ensure well located and safe defibrillators the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) has started to scope a review of Part M guidance. As part of this review work, recommendations on the location for defibrillators may be considered.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 mane an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing leasehold as part of its review of leasehold property.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Leasehold can be an effective tool for making multiple-ownership more straightforward, such as in blocks of flats with shared fabric and common areas. However, other than in exceptional circumstances new build houses should be sold on a freehold basis.
We believe that where a house can be built and sold as freehold then it should be. This means that house owners are not faced with charges for ground rents or a time limited lease where this is not necessary. That is why we announced last year that we would bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows to prohibit new residential long leases from being granted on houses, whether new build or on existing freehold houses.
We are also working with the Law Commission to reinvigorate the use of commonhold as an alternative to leasehold to provide greater choice for home owners.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure biodiversity in the local environment is a criterion in planning applications.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Environmental protection is at the heart of our revised National Planning Policy Framework, which is a material consideration in planning decisions. It states that planning should enhance the natural environment by minimising harm to biodiversity and providing net gains in biodiversity. The Framework strengthens protection for biodiversity (including Local Wildlife Sites), and makes clear that development harming irreplaceable habitats such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees should be refused unless there are wholly exceptional reasons.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect people who have fled domestic violence and are homeless.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that nobody should have to suffer. Supporting victims of domestic abuse is an absolute priority for this Government. Councils have a legal duty to provide accommodation to families and others who are vulnerable as a result of fleeing domestic abuse. The Homelessness Reduction Act requires councils to take reasonable steps for all eligible households who are homeless, to help them secure accommodation. The Homelessness Code of Guidance also makes clear that local authorities should not limit their understanding of domestic abuse to physical violence alone, and that in all cases involving domestic abuse, the safety of the victim is paramount.
We are overhauling the statutory homelessness data collection alongside the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act. This will give us better insights into the causes of homelessness and the support people needs of people who approach their local authority for homelessness assistance, including people fleeing domestic violence.
We are also continuing to support the Women’s Aid Routes to Support and No Woman Turned Away projects, having already provided almost £889,000 between 2015 and 2018 for these projects. Routes to Support (formerly UK Refuges online) is part-funded by the Government and is a UK-wide online database containing information about domestic abuse and other violence against women services. No Woman Turned Away provides caseworker support to women facing difficulties in accessing refuge, including those at risk of or who have been sleeping rough or experiencing homelessness.