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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will mane an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing leasehold as part of its review of leasehold property.

Leasehold can be an effective tool for making multiple-ownership more straightforward, such as in blocks of flats with shared fabric and common areas. However, other than in exceptional circumstances new build houses should be sold on a freehold basis.

We believe that where a house can be built and sold as freehold then it should be. This means that house owners are not faced with charges for ground rents or a time limited lease where this is not necessary. That is why we announced last year that we would bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows to prohibit new residential long leases from being granted on houses, whether new build or on existing freehold houses.

We are also working with the Law Commission to reinvigorate the use of commonhold as an alternative to leasehold to provide greater choice for home owners.