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Written Question
Leasehold
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the threshold that needs to be passed for a ‘right to manage’ ballot is a majority of (1) all the leasehold properties, or (2) those ballots returned from the leaseholders.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Right to Manage is a statutory process requiring all qualifying non-participating leaseholders to be invited to become a member of the Right to Manage company using a prescribed “notice inviting participation”. The company serves these notices on the leaseholders with no input from the freeholder.

Leaseholders wishing to take forward a claim will need to obtain the title documents for their building from His Majesty’s Land Registry to determine if they qualify and to provide the required details of their leases in the claim notice. The title documents will contain the names and addresses of the owners of the other flats in the building.

In order to qualify for the Right to Manage, no ballot is held, leaseholders who have setup a Right to Manage company invite other leaseholders to participate and the claim can go forward if the qualifying criteria is met. The criteria is as follows: two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held on long residential leases and leaseholders representing not less than 50% of the total number of flats in the building must participate in the claim.


Written Question
Leasehold
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that 'right to manage' ballots are safe and secure.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Right to Manage is a statutory process requiring all qualifying non-participating leaseholders to be invited to become a member of the Right to Manage company using a prescribed “notice inviting participation”. The company serves these notices on the leaseholders with no input from the freeholder.

Leaseholders wishing to take forward a claim will need to obtain the title documents for their building from His Majesty’s Land Registry to determine if they qualify and to provide the required details of their leases in the claim notice. The title documents will contain the names and addresses of the owners of the other flats in the building.

In order to qualify for the Right to Manage, no ballot is held, leaseholders who have setup a Right to Manage company invite other leaseholders to participate and the claim can go forward if the qualifying criteria is met. The criteria is as follows: two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held on long residential leases and leaseholders representing not less than 50% of the total number of flats in the building must participate in the claim.


Written Question
Leasehold: Reform
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what actions a leaseholder with 99 years left on their lease has to take to take advantage of proposals for a peppercorn rent in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill presently before Parliament.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their lease or buy the freehold. The Bill includes a statutory right for qualifying leaseholders to obtain a 990-year lease extension, or to buy their freehold, on payment of a premium. In doing so they can obtain a peppercorn ground rent. In calculating the premium, the value of ground rent is capped at 0.1% of the freehold value.

In addition we have consulted on options to restrict ground rents for current leases and will respond to that consultation in due course. This Government has already restricted ground rents for new residential leases to a peppercorn.


Written Question
Leasehold
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the number of leases that have a lease term of 125 years when first sold.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

According to the English Housing Survey 2021-22, 536,000 leasehold dwellings had a lease of between 99 and 125 years at the time of purchase (Annex Table 3.5).


Written Question
Leasehold
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government how leaseholders wishing to hold a 'right to manage' ballot can acquire the data to communicate with the other leaseholders prior to the ballot being held.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Right to Manage is a statutory process requiring all qualifying non-participating leaseholders to be invited to become a member of the Right to Manage company using a prescribed “notice inviting participation”. The company serves these notices on the leaseholders with no input from the freeholder.

Leaseholders wishing to take forward a claim will need to obtain the title documents for their building from His Majesty’s Land Registry to determine if they qualify and to provide the required details of their leases in the claim notice. The title documents will contain the names and addresses of the owners of the other flats in the building.

In order to qualify for the Right to Manage, no ballot is held, leaseholders who have setup a Right to Manage company invite other leaseholders to participate and the claim can go forward if the qualifying criteria is met. The criteria is as follows: two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held on long residential leases and leaseholders representing not less than 50% of the total number of flats in the building must participate in the claim.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation: Families
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that homeless families are not relocated to temporary accommodation in other parts of England which results in them having to change schools.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 197285 on 11 September 2023


If a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the local authority of any placement, to ensure there is no disruption to schooling or employment.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation: Children
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of temporary housing on the development of young children.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 197285 on 11 September 2023


If a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the local authority of any placement, to ensure there is no disruption to schooling or employment.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation: Families
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of social houses that need to be built each year to end temporary accommodation for families and to clear the backlog of local authority housing waiting lists.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.


Written Question
Licensed Premises
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of local authority private sector licensing schemes.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.


Written Question
Community Land Trusts
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of any benefits gained from increasing the number of community land trusts on the current shortages of housing.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.