Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the publication of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill was delayed.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per our manifesto commitment, this government is taking the steps necessary to finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end in this Parliament.
Publication of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was delayed by a matter of weeks to finalise elements of policy and drafting.
The draft Bill was published yesterday, and I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the timing of the publication of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill on leaseholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per our manifesto commitment, this government is taking the steps necessary to finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end in this Parliament.
Publication of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was delayed by a matter of weeks to finalise elements of policy and drafting.
The draft Bill was published yesterday, and I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with freehold investors and their representatives on the (a) content and (b) timing of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill since July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my Department engage regularly with representatives of freeholders, leaseholders, managing agents and other professional bodies with an interest in the leasehold sector in England and Wales.
The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published yesterday, and I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with operators of housing-with-care schemes on international best practice in relation to tenure.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87630 on 11 November 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of properties whose ground rent has been raised to over £250 each year, in 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 73504 on 15 September 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made a recent estimate of the market value of properties subject to a ground rent of more than £250 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 73504 on 15 September 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of long leases that have been turned into Assured Shorthold Tenancies because their ground rent was increased to more than £250.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on long leases that have been treated as assured shorthold tenancies as a result of ground rent increases. Nor does it hold data on the number of leases that have been forfeited due to ground rent arrears.
The government has acted through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to ensure that leases granted for more than 21 years will be excluded from the assured tenancy regime. The relevant provisions will come into force on 27 December 2025 and will mean that from that date it will no longer be the case that, under provisions of the Housing Act 1988, leaseholders paying a ground rent of more than £250 a year (or more than £1,000 in London) can be legally regarded as assured tenants, and as such can have their home repossessed if they fall behind on their ground rents.
We also recognise that under the current legal framework, landlords may rely on a contractual right to forfeit a lease where a leaseholder breaches a covenant – such as the failure to pay ground rent. The availability of forfeiture as a remedy can create a significant power imbalance between landlords and leaseholders, with its use resulting in the leaseholder losing both their home and any equity accrued in the property.
We will address this through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill by removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of enforcing lease compliance. The Government also remains committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and doing so in legislation.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of leases that have been forfeited because the leaseholder fell into ground rent arrears of 3 months in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on long leases that have been treated as assured shorthold tenancies as a result of ground rent increases. Nor does it hold data on the number of leases that have been forfeited due to ground rent arrears.
The government has acted through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to ensure that leases granted for more than 21 years will be excluded from the assured tenancy regime. The relevant provisions will come into force on 27 December 2025 and will mean that from that date it will no longer be the case that, under provisions of the Housing Act 1988, leaseholders paying a ground rent of more than £250 a year (or more than £1,000 in London) can be legally regarded as assured tenants, and as such can have their home repossessed if they fall behind on their ground rents.
We also recognise that under the current legal framework, landlords may rely on a contractual right to forfeit a lease where a leaseholder breaches a covenant – such as the failure to pay ground rent. The availability of forfeiture as a remedy can create a significant power imbalance between landlords and leaseholders, with its use resulting in the leaseholder losing both their home and any equity accrued in the property.
We will address this through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill by removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of enforcing lease compliance. The Government also remains committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and doing so in legislation.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional resources have been allocated to Cleveland Fire Brigade in the last three financial years.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 3 February, the Ministry published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. to support their operational and capital needs.
These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities including Cleveland Fire Brigade receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
For 2025/26, Cleveland Fire Brigade will have a core spending power of £36.1 million, an increase of £1.2 million (3.4%) compared to 2024/25.
In addition to the annual funding Settlement, the Government has allocated a number of extra resources to Cleveland Fire Brigade including the Fire Pensions Grant, the Protection Grant and the Fire New Dimension Grant.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with fire and rescue services on recruitment and retention.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Responsibility for the recruitment and retention of firefighters rests with individual fire and rescue authorities.
Since the transfer of Ministerial responsibility for all fire functions from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 1 April 2025, MHCLG has continued to engage with the fire and rescue sector through a number of forums, including the Ministerial Advisory Group on Fire and Rescue Reform, to discuss a range of issues affecting services.