Housing and Planning Bill (Programme) (No. 2)

Peter Bottomley Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)]

I do not think there would be any objection if the Government agreed to that, but we are in the situation we are in.

The Bill totally misses out the necessary changes to leasehold and commonhold. Some years ago, the House passed a Bill to allow commonhold to come in. It has defects and we are going to be lumbered with more and more leaseholds being created—for over half of new homes.

The second thing I object to is that we have not taken the easy opportunity of cutting out the forfeiture of people’s homes when there has been a little dispute over some charges. I hope that later on, perhaps in another place, if not on Report and Third Reading, the House will realise that the Government really need to get on and sort out the problems of leasehold that affect a very, very high number of property owners.