Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to (a) local authorities and (b) planning bodies on supporting leaseholders unable to sell homes due to unresolved disputes with freeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Leaseholders involved in disputes may contact the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) which provides free initial legal advice and information on leasehold, building safety, commonhold and park home issues for consumers.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of freehold management practices on the ability of leaseholders to sell properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.
Property agents must already belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislative requirement is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents.
The redress schemes publish data on the number of complaints they receive, the amount awarded to consumers, and maintain a public list of agents that have been expelled from their respective schemes.
Many leaseholders face persistent delays and high costs when trying to sell their properties. Currently, freeholders and managing agents are responsible for providing essential sales information, but they often have little incentive to do so efficiently. Homeowners living on private or mixed tenure estates, who contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of communal areas, can face similar challenges when trying to obtain relevant information from their estate manager. The government will take forward measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA) which will speed up the provision of information for leaseholders and homeowners on private or mixed tenure estates who wish to sell their property, and protect sellers from unreasonable fees when requesting this information.
The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group Chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019. Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future, and so we are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report.
On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report.
We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will publish a register of freehold management companies subject to repeated (a) complaints and (b) enforcement action.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.
Property agents must already belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislative requirement is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents.
The redress schemes publish data on the number of complaints they receive, the amount awarded to consumers, and maintain a public list of agents that have been expelled from their respective schemes.
Many leaseholders face persistent delays and high costs when trying to sell their properties. Currently, freeholders and managing agents are responsible for providing essential sales information, but they often have little incentive to do so efficiently. Homeowners living on private or mixed tenure estates, who contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of communal areas, can face similar challenges when trying to obtain relevant information from their estate manager. The government will take forward measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA) which will speed up the provision of information for leaseholders and homeowners on private or mixed tenure estates who wish to sell their property, and protect sellers from unreasonable fees when requesting this information.
The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group Chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019. Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future, and so we are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report.
On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report.
We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of climate-related wildfires on fire service budgets; and what steps she is taking to ensure sustainable funding for fire (a) response and (b) prevention.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In 2024/25, the Government funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Preparing for the future not only means tackling climate and nature emergencies but also adapting to the changes they will bring to our environment. A coordinated approach is essential to mitigate the impact on people, property, habitats, livestock, natural capital and wildlife, and to plan the most effective response to incidents.
The Ministry maintains close working relationships with the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum, and will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to consult (a) fire authorities, (b) local councils and (c) the insurance sector on potential alternative funding mechanisms for fire services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises that the current funding formula for fire and rescue services is considered outdated. As such, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to reforming the way funding is allocated to local authorities and fire and rescue authorities.
In the summer of 2025, the Ministry launched the Fair Funding Review 2.0, seeking views on the approach to determining new funding allocations for local authorities and fire and rescue authorities. The public consultation closed on 15 August 2025; and the response to which will be published in the autumn, followed by the publication of the provisional multi-year Settlement.
The Ministry will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential annual revenue that could be generated by a £1 to £2 levy on all (a) home and (b) vehicle insurance policies for provision to fire and rescue services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue services in England receive funding from several sources, including a central government grant, local council tax income (precept), and retained business rates allocated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Any introduction of a statutory levy on home and vehicle insurance as a source of funding to fire and rescue services would require further consideration.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with the insurance industry on the potential feasibility of a per-policy contribution to fire service funding.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue services in England receive funding from several sources, including a central government grant, local council tax income (precept), and retained business rates allocated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Any introduction of a statutory levy on home and vehicle insurance as a source of funding to fire and rescue services would require further consideration.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has considered introducing a statutory levy on (a) home and (b) vehicle insurance policies to provide direct funding to fire and rescue services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue services in England receive funding from several sources, including a central government grant, local council tax income (precept), and retained business rates allocated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Any introduction of a statutory levy on home and vehicle insurance as a source of funding to fire and rescue services would require further consideration.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase the powers of mortgage holders to hold developers to account in relation to inadequate construction.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is aware of the challenges faced by mortgage holders and all other purchasers of new build properties with building safety and other defects.
Presently, most new home warranties are 10 years in length and are regularly a requirement placed on potential borrowers by mortgage providers.
The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period, with the rest of the period covered by the warranty provider.
Where issues arise with a new home, the government would urge new build homeowners to check the terms of any warranty their home may be under to see if the developer can be held accountable for rectifying any issues before referring back to the warranty provider. Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the number of complaints on the quality of construction from new home owners to developers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Building Regulations set out high-level functional requirements that most building work – including all new build housing – must meet. The regulations are supported by statutory guidance in the form of Approved Documents (ADs) which set out in more detail how to meet the functional requirements.
It is the responsibility of the building designer to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations. The relevant building control authority will determine whether building work meets those requirements.
The Building Safety Act and the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry set out how we will strengthen building control procedures, including establishing an independent panel to review the way in which building control is delivered in England. In October 2023, new procedures came into force which provide strengthened regulatory oversight of Building Regulations before, during, and on completion of higher-risk building work. This will ensure safer, better-quality buildings, without systemic defects.
To further reinforce standards, we remain committed to introducing a statutory New Homes Ombudsman scheme that developers will have to join, with an accompanying Code of Practice about the standards of conduct and standards of quality of work expected of members.