Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority's report entitled Report on insurance for multi‑occupancy buildings, published in September 2022, if he will take steps to implement that report's recommendations; and what steps he plans to take to reduce insurance premium costs for leaseholders in multi-occupancy buildings.

On the 30 January 2023, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that we will take action to ban property managing agents, landlords and freeholders from receiving commissions and other payments from insurance firms, replacing such payments with more transparent fees.

Leaseholders will also have more information to enable them to better scrutinise their insurance costs, while also ensuring that leaseholders are not subject to unjustified legal costs and that they can claim their legal costs back from their landlord.

The FCA are currently undertaking their own review of high broker commission identified in their 21 September report which will be published in March 2023. I intend to meet the FCA again to discuss their work.

On 1 December, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) confirmed they are working to launch a scheme to reduce high premiums for those in buildings with significant fire safety issues. Ministers will continue to monitor the progress of the scheme and have made clear that they expect the scheme to be delivered as soon as is feasible to provide urgent assistance to affected buildings.