Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether measures are in place to prevent private landlords from inflating the cost of electricity when reselling it to tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ofgem’s Maximum Resale Price Guidance protects tenants from being charged inflated electricity costs by their landlord. It sets a maximum price that can be charged for electricity and gas which has already been bought from an authorised supplier.
The current maximum resale price is set at the same price as paid by the person reselling, including any discounts.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support homeowners with the cost of removing closed-cell spray foam insulation in order to secure a mortgage.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed. Officials in the department have previously consulted UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, the trade bodies for lenders about this matter, who advise that their members rely on the views of valuers and surveyors on this issue.
Whilst the department cannot comment on the decisions made by individual lenders, the presence of spray foam should not automatically prevent lending, and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis following a survey.
That is why it is important that surveyors continue to follow published protocols published in March 2023 to support these assessments, which can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab).
Building owners are responsible for costs of maintaining their buildings. The Government do not specify or recommend which types of insulation are appropriate for a particular property, and all measures installed under government schemes must be installed by TrustMark registered installers.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to review current guidance on closed-cell spray foam insulation and its impact on mortgage lending.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed. Officials in the department have previously consulted UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, the trade bodies for lenders about this matter, who advise that their members rely on the views of valuers and surveyors on this issue.
Whilst the department cannot comment on the decisions made by individual lenders, the presence of spray foam should not automatically prevent lending, and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis following a survey.
That is why it is important that surveyors continue to follow published protocols published in March 2023 to support these assessments, which can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab).
Building owners are responsible for costs of maintaining their buildings. The Government do not specify or recommend which types of insulation are appropriate for a particular property, and all measures installed under government schemes must be installed by TrustMark registered installers.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Chief Land Registrar on ensuring that adverse possession claims are not granted for land designated as public open space or held for flood management purposes; and whether her Department plans to issue guidance to local councils on this matter.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry has operational responsibility for considering land registration applications based on adverse possession. It publishes guidance about this matter at gov.uk here and here.