Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether it is his policy to amend the Defective Premises Act 1972 to increase the powers of leaseholders whose properties were constructed over thirty years ago.

The Government brought forward extensive protections for leaseholders through the Building Safety Act 2022, enabling those responsible for historical safety defects to be pursued and held to account. The leaseholder protections in the Act cover historical safety defects created since 28 June 1982, including those created during a refurbishment of a building which was originally constructed more than thirty years ago.

The Government has no plans to further extend the retrospective provisions for the Defective Premises Act 1972, however, the department will continue to monitor compliance with the Act’s provisions and allow the new regime to bed in before deciding whether further legislation should be brought forward.