Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many of the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its report on leasehold enfranchisement, entitled Commonhold and the right to manage, published on 21 July 2020, have been incorporated into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill delivers the most impactful of the Law Commission’s recommendations on enfranchisement, which will make it cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease, and the Right to Manage. This includes increasing the non-residential limit to 50% to give more leaseholders the right to take over management and changing the rules to make each party pay their own process and litigation costs, saving leaseholders many thousands of pounds.
The Government has and will continue to set out its position on leasehold reform as part of the continued progress of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to tackle forfeiture of leasehold properties.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill delivers the most impactful of the Law Commission’s recommendations on enfranchisement, which will make it cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease, and the Right to Manage. This includes increasing the non-residential limit to 50% to give more leaseholders the right to take over management and changing the rules to make each party pay their own process and litigation costs, saving leaseholders many thousands of pounds.
The Government has and will continue to set out its position on leasehold reform as part of the continued progress of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he last met the Law Commission to discuss leasehold reform.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill delivers the most impactful of the Law Commission’s recommendations on enfranchisement, which will make it cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease, and the Right to Manage. This includes increasing the non-residential limit to 50% to give more leaseholders the right to take over management and changing the rules to make each party pay their own process and litigation costs, saving leaseholders many thousands of pounds.
The Government has and will continue to set out its position on leasehold reform as part of the continued progress of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of planning rules on the installation of (a) telecommunications infrastructure and (b) 5G masts.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Permitted development rights have been developed for telecommunications infrastructure. In 2022 the Government made changes to permitted development rights to enable 5G deployment and help extend mobile coverage, following consultations on both the principle and technical detail of changes.
Alongside these changes, the Government published a new Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England. This details considerations that operators should follow when deploying infrastructure, including how infrastructure should be sited. It also covers how they should consult with interested parties throughout the development process, particularly with local residents, and the circumstances where a greater level of community engagement should be considered.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of 5G masts on trends in the levels of local house prices.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Permitted development rights have been developed for telecommunications infrastructure. In 2022 the Government made changes to permitted development rights to enable 5G deployment and help extend mobile coverage, following consultations on both the principle and technical detail of changes.
Alongside these changes, the Government published a new Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England. This details considerations that operators should follow when deploying infrastructure, including how infrastructure should be sited. It also covers how they should consult with interested parties throughout the development process, particularly with local residents, and the circumstances where a greater level of community engagement should be considered.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help increase collaboration between (a) network operators and (b) local communities on planning consultations for proposed 5G masts.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Permitted development rights have been developed for telecommunications infrastructure. In 2022 the Government made changes to permitted development rights to enable 5G deployment and help extend mobile coverage, following consultations on both the principle and technical detail of changes.
Alongside these changes, the Government published a new Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England. This details considerations that operators should follow when deploying infrastructure, including how infrastructure should be sited. It also covers how they should consult with interested parties throughout the development process, particularly with local residents, and the circumstances where a greater level of community engagement should be considered.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour committed by tenants living in rented properties.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Renters (Reform) Bill will strengthen landlords’ ability to repossess their property from anti-social tenants.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on levels of demand on the courts.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
With regards to specialist housing courts and the impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on levels of demand on the courts, I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 203400 on 26 October 2023 and Question UIN 10066 on 25 January 2024.
The Government monitors possession claim actions in the county courts using the Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice. We will set out further details shortly about how we will assess the operation of the courts in the context of the changes to possession processes which we are introducing through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specialist housing courts.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
With regards to specialist housing courts and the impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on levels of demand on the courts, I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 203400 on 26 October 2023 and Question UIN 10066 on 25 January 2024.
The Government monitors possession claim actions in the county courts using the Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice. We will set out further details shortly about how we will assess the operation of the courts in the context of the changes to possession processes which we are introducing through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the effectiveness of court processes for the repossession of rental properties before the commencement of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
With regards to specialist housing courts and the impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on levels of demand on the courts, I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 203400 on 26 October 2023 and Question UIN 10066 on 25 January 2024.
The Government monitors possession claim actions in the county courts using the Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice. We will set out further details shortly about how we will assess the operation of the courts in the context of the changes to possession processes which we are introducing through the Renters (Reform) Bill.