Commonhold and Leasehold Reform

Sam Carling Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I think that I have already committed to ensuring that a visit to her constituency is on the very long list of requests that I have received, but I will bear her request in mind.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

I commend the Minister for bringing forward these brilliant measures to protect leaseholders. Constituents across Hampton own the freehold to their homes but pay several levels of service charge—first, to managing agents such as FirstPort, which is supposed to be responsible for unadopted roads, and secondly, to Hampton Estates, which covers lots of the public open space, parks and drainage. As part of our reforms, how will the Government ensure that multi-level service charges like those are addressed, particularly in areas for which they were never supposed to be adopted?

[Matthew Pennycook]

Again, I refer my hon. Friend to the two comprehensive consultations that we launched before Christmas. We need to establish the new regulatory framework to provide consumer protections for residential freeholders on freehold estates. We are also consulting on how to reduce the prevalence of such private management arrangements, which are at the core of so many of the unjust practices that residential freeholders face.