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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to support existing leaseholders who have (a) doubling and (b) other forms of multiplying ground rent.

The Government has legislated via the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 to protect future leaseholders from ground rents and we are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this Parliament.

We do not hold the information requested centrally. The department conducted an Impact Assessment for the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, which included data on the number of properties in England and Wales that may charge ground rent, and may have doubling review clauses. The Impact Assessment is available on the UK Parliament website.

We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.

The CMA have secured commitments benefiting over 20,000 leaseholders, including commitments to return doubling ground rent terms to original rates. The CMA continue to engage with a number of firms and we urge other developers to follow suit.