Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 31 October 2019 on Leasehold update, HCWS55, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on leasehold and commonhold reforms.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We are moving towards legislation on leasehold reform, reaffirming our commitment to making the system fairer for leaseholders. This will include measures to ban the sale of?new?leasehold houses, restrict ground rents to?a peppercorn for future leases, give freehold home owners equivalent rights to challenge unfair charges, and close loopholes to prevent unfair evictions
The Government supports the increased use of commonhold. Reform to commonhold legislation is needed to support greater take up of the tenure. That is why the Government is working closely with the Law Commission as part of their 13th Programme of Law reform to reinvigorate commonhold and provide greater choice for consumers. The Law Commission undertook a consultation earlier this year and are now analysing responses. They will report back to Government later in the year.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timeframe is for bringing forward legislation on leasehold reform.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and more cost effective – and to reinvigorate Commonhold and Right to Manage. We are moving forward with legislation, particularly on measures to ban the sale of new leasehold houses, restrict ground rents to zero for future leases, give freehold homeowners equivalent rights to challenge unfair charges, and close loopholes to prevent unfair evictions and will introduce a bill when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reform the leasehold sector.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.
We are moving towards legislation to ban the sale of new leasehold houses, restrict ground rents to zero for future leases, give freehold home owners equivalent rights to challenge unfair charges, and close loopholes to prevent unfair evictions. We are also working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and more cost effective – and to reinvigorate Commonhold and Right to Manage. The Law Commission published its report on options for valuation on 9 January, and we are now considering next steps.
In October 2018 we established an independent working group, chaired by Lord Best, to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered how fees such as service charges should be presented to consumers in the leasehold sector. The working group published its final report to Government on 18 July 2019. We are considering the report’s recommendations and will announce next steps in due course.
In 2017, the Law Commission also published a report of their review of event fees in the leasehold retirement sector on behalf of this Department. The Government responded to the Law Commission in March 2019, agreeing to implement the majority of the recommendations. We are currently further considering two recommendations, on succession rights and a database of leasehold retirement properties with event fees.
Asked by: Mark Prisk (Conservative - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the regulation of leasehold properties.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The government remains committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service
We have set out a strong package of measures to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes a commitment to bring forward legislation to ban the unjustified use of leasehold for new houses, reducing future ground rents to zero financial value, and introducing new rights to challenge fees for freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates. We are also working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper, as well as reinvigorating Commonhold and making Right to Manage easier, to provide greater choice for consumers
The government is also working to ensure charges related to leasehold properties are transparent and communicated effectively and that there is a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong. Last October we established an independent working group chaired by Lord Best to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered how fees such as service charges should be presented to consumers. The working group published its final report to government on 18 July. We are considering the report’s recommendations and will announce next steps in due course.
We remain committed to legislating on leasehold reform as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to stop landowners and managing agents from using service charges to recover legal defence costs from home owners who they have entered legal disputes with.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Leaseholders can apply to the Tribunal at any time to make an order under section 20C of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for the court or tribunal to limit or prevent the recovery of legal costs via the service charge. In addition Section 131 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 amended the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 to give the courts and tribunals a discretionary power to reduce or extinguish a leaseholders liability to pay a particular administration charge in respect of litigation costs.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reform residential leasehold and commonhold law.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government wants to ensure the leasehold system in England is fair and transparent to the consumer. Unfair practices in the leasehold market have no place in a modern housing market. Neither do excessive ground rents, which exploit consumers who get nothing in return.
Our technical consultation on how to improve the leasehold market and make it fairer for consumers closed on 26 November. It sought views on:
The Government is carefully analysing the responses and will introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows
The Secretary of State has asked the Law Commission to take forward further work to reform residential and commonhold law. The Law Commission is currently consulting on how to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper, and how to reinvigorate commonhold to provide greater choice for consumers. The Law Commission is due to report to ministers on these issues in 2019. In addition, the Secretary of State has asked the Law Commission to look at improving the laws which allow leaseholders to manage their own buildings.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the the regulation of commonhold land where there is not an obligation set out in the commonhold community statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
For land to be registered as commonhold, a commonhold community statement has to be in place. As part of its 13th programme of law reform, the Law Commission is taking forward a project to re-invigorate commonhold as a workable alternative to residential leasehold, for both existing and new homes. The Law Commission has published terms of reference for this work, and will be looking at the role, layout and content of the commonhold community statement, and make recommendations. The Government will consider the recommendations when the Law Commission has reported.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the Law Commission to publish the outcome of its work on leasehold reform.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The final report on enfranchisement is scheduled to be published in June 2019. On commonhold the Law Commission is scheduled to publish a consultation in October 2018 and a final report in June 2019. We expect the Law Commission to consult on the right to manage in November 2018 with a final report scheduled to be published in September 2019.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the Law Commission has made on its work on residential leasehold and commonhold.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In December 2017, the Law Commission announced it was to start a project on residential leasehold and commonhold as part of its 13th Programme of Law Reform. In February 2018, a call for evidence on commonhold was published with a full consultation due later in the year. By the end of July, the Commission expects to publish enfranchisement solutions for leasehold houses, followed by a consultation on a new enfranchisement regime for leasehold houses and flats later in the year. In July MHCLG Ministers also asked the Law Commission to consider leaseholders’ Right to Manage. The Commission intends to publish a consultation paper on this in late 2018.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the Law Commission has made on its work on residential leasehold and commonhold.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In December 2017, the Law Commission announced it was to start a project on residential leasehold and commonhold as part of its 13th Programme of Law Reform. In February 2018, a call for evidence on commonhold was published with a full consultation due later in the year. By the end of July, the Commission expects to publish enfranchisement solutions for leasehold houses, followed by a consultation on a new enfranchisement regime for leasehold houses and flats later in the year. In July MHCLG Ministers also asked the Law Commission to consider leaseholders’ Right to Manage. The Commission intends to publish a consultation paper on this in late 2018.