Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what criteria his Department used to assess applications to the Waking Watch Relief Fund for buildings with flammable cladding.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Guidance on eligibility criteria for the Waking Watch Relief Fund is published on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waking-watch-relief-fund and for the Waking Watch Replacement Fund at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waking-watch-replacement-fund.
We have not made an assessment of the costs incurred by leaseholders who installed fire alarms before the eligibility date for the Waking Watch Relief Fund. However, data on average Waking Watch costs for approved Waking Watch Relief Fund (WWRF) applications is published in the Building Safety Programme data release. The latest data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data. This shows average cost of Waking Watch is estimated at £167 per month per dwelling.
We recognise that Waking Watch is a costly burden for too many leaseholders which is why Government is providing over £60 million to support the installation of alarms in buildings to replace costly Waking Watch measures. The Waking Watch Replacement fund will pay for alarms in all buildings where a Waking Watch is in place where those costs are passed onto leaseholders. The fund builds on the success of the Waking Watch Relief Fund which is funding alarms in over 320 buildings. The new fund will pay for alarms where installation commenced on or after 10 January 2022 – the date the fund was announced. The Waking Watch Relief Fund paid for alarms installed after 17 December 2020.
Government funding does recognise that Waking Watch measures have been in place in too many buildings for too long with leaseholders unfairly picking up these costs. We have considered how we can use limited public funding to best protect leaseholders from the continued burden of costly Waking Watch measures. In this case we have come to the view that government funding must be used to incentivise the right behaviour. That is the installation of alarms which is consistent with industry led guidance and best practice. Funding must, therefore, be used to reduce or end the reliance on Waking Watch measures by installing alarms in as many buildings as possible so that as many leaseholders as possible can be free of these costs. That is why we are unable to cover retrospective costs beyond those dates.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to (a) retrospectively address and (b) reform practices leading to unfair ground rent contracts.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. It is absolutely right that leaseholders should know about the coming changes that might affect them. We are preparing a number of activities to help with this as part of ensuring a smooth implementation of the Act.
We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector. The Government has welcomed the action to tackle potential mis-selling and unfair terms in the leasehold sector and wants to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve.
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act is the first of a two-part seminal legislation programme to reform the leasehold system in this Parliament. On 7 January 2021 the Government announced reforms to enfranchisement valuation, 990-year leases, and established a new Commonhold Council. We will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation making it cheaper and simpler for leaseholders to extend their lease or purchase their freehold. For leaseholders buying the freehold or extending their lease, we will also cap ground rent to 0.1% of the freehold value for the purposes of calculating the premium. We will also prescribe rates and introduce an online calculator which will make it simpler for leaseholders to find out how much it will cost them to enfranchise.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to (a) retrospectively amend and (b) amend existing unfair leasehold contracts.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. It is absolutely right that leaseholders should know about the coming changes that might affect them. We are preparing a number of activities to help with this as part of ensuring a smooth implementation of the Act.
We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector. The Government has welcomed the action to tackle potential mis-selling and unfair terms in the leasehold sector and wants to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve.
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act is the first of a two-part seminal legislation programme to reform the leasehold system in this Parliament. On 7 January 2021 the Government announced reforms to enfranchisement valuation, 990-year leases, and established a new Commonhold Council. We will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation making it cheaper and simpler for leaseholders to extend their lease or purchase their freehold. For leaseholders buying the freehold or extending their lease, we will also cap ground rent to 0.1% of the freehold value for the purposes of calculating the premium. We will also prescribe rates and introduce an online calculator which will make it simpler for leaseholders to find out how much it will cost them to enfranchise.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is proposing to bring existing leasehold and ground rent contracts into line with his current leasehold reform plans.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents.
Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. This is why the Government asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector. The Government has welcomed the action to tackle potential mis-selling and unfair terms in the leasehold sector and wants to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that the environmental health profession is supported through adequate (a) funding and (b) skills and training to deliver its services.
Answered by Luke Hall
We understand that regulatory services teams, including environmental health officers, have faced significant pressures during the period of pandemic response. The Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group, which was set up by the Department in December 2020, has considered these issues in partnership with the Local Government Association and with senior colleagues from local authorities. The Group is currently finalising a set of recommendations which will aim to support the development and retention of a skilled environmental health workforce.