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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data the Department holds on the number of residential properties in England that have become unmortgageable due to their previous status as commercial premises; and whether she plans to commission further research into the issue.

Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of mortgages are commercial decisions for lenders and the government does not seek to intervene in them.

My Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of mortgage availability restrictions on office-to-residential conversions, it holds no data on properties affected, and it has not issued specific guidance to local authorities on their long-term mortgageability.

The government is determined that lenders should treat borrowers fairly. Any dispute arising between a bank and its customers is usually best resolved by the parties involved. If a customer is not happy with their bank’s response, they can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to review their complaint. The FOS provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers. Its decisions are binding on the firm concerned.