Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the adequacy of existing protections for leaseholders of shared ownership leasehold properties who are unable to either sell or re-mortgage their properties.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.
The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Department has considered a buy-back scheme for shared ownership leaseholders whose homes become unsaleable due to building safety faults.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.
The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of shared ownership leaseholders (a) nationally and (b) in London who are unable to sell or remortgage their homes due to cladding or EWS1-related issues.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.
The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections on the marketing and selling of shared ownership properties with cladding or remediation based issues.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.
The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how (a) local authorities and (b) magistrates’ courts can obtain liability orders under the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Where a council tax debt remains outstanding following a final notice, the council may apply to the magistrates court for a liability order confirming this debt. The individual will be issued with a summons to appear before the magistrate’s court. Where the court is satisfied that the amount is payable they will issue a liability order for this debt. Regulations 33 to 36A of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, set out the processes councils must follow in obtaining a liability order.
The government is currently consulting on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. As part of this it is seeking views on changes to the process for obtaining a liability order, including the time before a council can seek this and the fees involved.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 land access disputes arising from delays in completing remediation work on residential flats.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The department has currently made no such assessment.
Since Grenfell Tower in 2017, 96% of buildings with Grenfell-style cladding have started or completed remediation but 51% of mid and high-rise buildings with all types of cladding issues identified still are yet to start remediation. This is unacceptably slow.
We have been clear on our intentions to ensure we deliver remediation faster, with more action from manufacturers, freeholders, developers and organisations with a responsibility to make sure buildings are safe.
The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) was announced on 2 December 2024. It sets out key measures to fix buildings faster, identify remaining buildings still at risk and ensure that residents are supported through the remediation process.
The RAP sets out the government’s ambitious approach to tackle these issues for buildings in England. We recognise that the scale and importance of the challenge is so significant that we expect to publish a further update on this plan in summer 2025 to report on progress and to reflect the second phase of the spending review.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of rent for people living in houseboats with permanent moorings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There is limited data available on the number of houseboats and whether these are owner-occupied or rented. While houseboats with permanent moorings may be in the postcode address file and therefore eligible for inclusion in the English Housing Survey, these cannot be separated out for reporting purposes due to very low numbers. As a result, such an assessment cannot be made.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of leasehold properties in England which contain Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not gather data on the number of leasehold properties which contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). However, our current assessment is that prevalence of RAAC is low in housing.
All building owners should continue to manage building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, including RAAC, in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner. To do so, they should continue to follow guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) to identify, assess, and manage issues relating to RAAC.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many residential flats in Brentford and Isleworth constituency have received funding from the Building Safety Fund.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Data on the progress and costs of the Waking Watch Relief and Replacement Funds, launched prior to 2023, are published as part of the Building Safety Remediation: monthly data release - June 2024 - GOV.UK. The Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 opened on 25 May 2023 and closed for new applications on 31 March 2024. Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 data is not currently reported as part of the Building Safety Remediation Monthly Data Release, however we will include full fund data within future releases in due course.
As of the end of June 2024, there are currently 14 buildings eligible for remediation through the Building Safety Fund in the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth. Of these 14, it is estimated that 11 buildings have received funding for their remediation, covering approximately 700 residential units across the constituency.
As of the end of June 2024, there are 423 London buildings that have had grant funding approved, of these 169 have not started on site building remediation. Outside of London, there are 315 buildings that have had grant funding approved. Of these, 76 have not started on site building remediation.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund was spent.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Data on the progress and costs of the Waking Watch Relief and Replacement Funds, launched prior to 2023, are published as part of the Building Safety Remediation: monthly data release - June 2024 - GOV.UK. The Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 opened on 25 May 2023 and closed for new applications on 31 March 2024. Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 data is not currently reported as part of the Building Safety Remediation Monthly Data Release, however we will include full fund data within future releases in due course.
As of the end of June 2024, there are currently 14 buildings eligible for remediation through the Building Safety Fund in the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth. Of these 14, it is estimated that 11 buildings have received funding for their remediation, covering approximately 700 residential units across the constituency.
As of the end of June 2024, there are 423 London buildings that have had grant funding approved, of these 169 have not started on site building remediation. Outside of London, there are 315 buildings that have had grant funding approved. Of these, 76 have not started on site building remediation.