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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his policy is on housebuilders that fail to complete housing developments in the timescales they have committed to; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure housebuilders deliver on their housebuilding timeline commitment to house buyers.

The government is clear that developments should be built out as soon as possible. However, there can be genuine reasons why developments are built out at slower than expected rates, including delays in the provision of supporting infrastructure or wider economic issues.

In cases of problematic delay, local authorities already have powers to issue completion notices that encourage developers to complete unfinished sites. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is currently going through the legislative process, contains a number of other provisions which, if agreed by Parliament, will offer additional powers in this area.