Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will distinguish between (a) relocation, (b) estate and (c) property agents within the housing sector in the context of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.
The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill on relocation agents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.
The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating a proportion of new-build homes to (a) teachers, (b) police officers, (c) NHS staff and (d) other key workers in (i) London and (ii) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people, including key workers, are now locked out of homeownership.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the Government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme and to giving first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes.
Local authorities are delivering First Homes which can be targeted towards key workers. These are homes which are sold to first-time buyers with a discount of at least 30% from full market value.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of Housing Revenue Account borrowing on investment in council homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the importance of borrowing for investment in new council homes. Local authorities have access to a preferential rate from the Public Works Loans Board to support housebuilding in the Housing Revenue Account. The preferential rate of gilts +0.4% is available until June 2025. The Government is committed to supporting councils to build their capacity and invest in new social rented homes.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to (a) engage and (b) work with (i) cooperatives and (ii) community-led not-for-profit organisations to build new homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits, including additional housing supply, empowering communities, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.
I am committed to working with representatives of the sector - including the Co-operative housing movement and Community Land Trust Network - to consider how the Government may support the growth of community led housing over the long term.
We will shortly launch a review of the National Planning Policy Framework, and this will provide an opportunity for all organisations with an interest in community-led housing to express their views on how the planning system can support this important sector.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department distinguishes between (a) relocation agents, (b) estate agents and (c) property agents within the housing sector, in the context of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The existing measures in this Bill will apply principally to managing agents acting on behalf of their landlord or estate manager, but measures relating to the ban on new leasehold houses will also apply to those involved in marketing a property, including estate agents.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on relocation agents.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver a fairer, more secure, and higher quality private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century. The Impact Assessment for the Bill considers the impact on letting agents (which includes relocation agents).
It estimates that as a result of familiarisation costs and more stable private rented sector tenancies, letting agents will face costs of £1,085 per agent per year over the ten-year appraisal period. The reforms may also create new opportunities for letting agents, such as services which support landlords to meet their new requirements.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many referrals under the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 in relation to freehold marketing particulars been have reported to his Department through the National Trading Standards Team since those Regulations came into force.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The information requested is not held centrally.