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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps in addition to the current review of the leasehold system is his Department taking to provide a reasonable outcome for those leaseholders who bought properties with onerous lease terms.

The Secretary of State held a roundtable meeting in November in which he made clear to developers that greater support must be made available to existing leaseholders with onerous lease terms. Some developers have introduced schemes to assist individuals with onerous leases which is welcome, but these must be extended to include second hand buyers. We are keeping a close eye on progress and will consider taking further action if necessary.

We are also working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders. The Law Commission’s consultation on making buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper, which closed on 7 January, included proposals for a prescribed formula for costs.