Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to introduce a
Bill to reform leasehold as a tenure for housing.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as a
leaseholder.
(Con)
As the noble Lord will be very well aware, as of today we have a
new Prime Minister, and therefore it would be pre-emptive for me
to set out so soon the details of when any legislation will be
introduced. None the less, I want to be clear that the Government
are committed to creating a fair and just housing system that
works for everyone. This includes our reforms to improve fairness
and transparency in the leasehold home ownership market.
(Lab Co-op)
I thank the noble Baroness for that response. Can she go further
and confirm that she will speak to the new Secretary of State and
other relevant Ministers, when appointed this week, to urge
progress on leasehold reform? There are some dreadful abuses of
leaseholders taking place across all aspects of this tenure—on
service charges, insurance and forfeiture—and truly radical
reform, or even abolition of this tenure and the development of
commonhold, is required.
(Con)
I assure the noble Lord that I will speak to whoever is the new
Minister, or to an old Minister coming back. While I cannot set
out precise details of the future Bill at this stage, the
Government have been very clear about our commitment to
addressing the historic imbalance in the leasehold system.
Further legislation will follow later in this Parliament. This is
a long-term reform programme; it is complex and it is important
that we get the detail right.
(Con)
My Lords, my noble friend will know that the leasehold reform
Bill was originally planned for this Session and has now been
postponed to the next one. In the meantime, in addition to the
problems mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, there is
considerable uncertainty in the leasehold market. Leaseholders
when they buy a flat do not know what additional rights they may
acquire under the Bill, and this affects the value. To minimise
the uncertainty in the meantime, can my noble friend do what she
can to ensure that the Bill is introduced very early in the next
Session, preferably on the first day of the Queen’s Speech
debate?
(Con)
I totally understand the issue that my noble friend raises. As I
have said to the noble Lord opposite, I will do my best to ensure
that all the issues that noble Lords bring up today are
communicated to the department and to the new Ministers. My noble
friend understands that I cannot give the commitment that he
requires but, again, I assure him that the Government are still
very strongly committed to taking forward a comprehensive
long-term programme of reform in the house ownership sector.
However, as I have said before, it is complex and we need to get
the detail right.
(LD)
My Lords, here is something that maybe the Minister could
address. Ground rents are not controlled for the vast majority of
leaseholders, and there is obviously no service for that, just a
payment that they have to make. Leaseholders are telling me that
often that is linked to RPI, which is obviously going through the
roof, resulting in very high additional charges for the
leaseholders affected. It is profiteering that is inexcusable in
the circumstances. Will the Minister use whatever influence and
pressure that she and the Government can to put on to freeholders
to stop these extortionate rises in RPI-linked ground rents?
(Con)
I will use every opportunity I can to do that, and the Government
are looking at capping rents across the social sector. I will
also bring up the issue of ground rents while they are looking at
those issues. I think that is an important point we can take back
from the noble Baroness.
(Lab)
The issue of ground rents that the noble Baroness has just raised
is fundamentally different from the issue of social rents. As the
Government themselves recognise, it is totally unjustified to be
charging exorbitant ground rents, for which landlords offer no
services whatever, because they have been illegal with respect to
new leases since the end of June. It is not just increases
related to RPI—in some cases there are doubling clauses in
contracts every 10 years, which leads to totally unsustainable
increases for leaseholders. I strongly encourage the noble
Baroness to take up this issue with the new Secretary of
State.
(Con)
I assure the noble Lord that I will do that. I understand. That
is why we brought in the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act in
2022, which came into force, as the noble Lord said, at the end
of June. Things have changed and are changing, and as we are
looking at capping social housing rents, I do not see any reason
why we cannot look at—without any promises—ground rents as
well.
(Lab)
My Lords, can the Minister explain why there is plenty of
parliamentary time available at the moment and yet these
important Bills do not come forward? Is it the case that they
have all followed the procedures of the ex-Prime Minister and
gone on holiday for a month?
(Con)
I think noble Lords will find that every department thinks that
its legislation is as important or more important than that of
others. But I agree with the noble Lord that these are important
pieces of legislation, and I shall talk to Ministers as they come
in, and to the department.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I watched all the hustings that have taken place
throughout the summer and was reassured by people talking about
the need for affordable housing and home ownership as part of
democracy, but there was no specific reference to leasehold.
Would the Minister try to get the message through to the new
Prime Minister that although she may think, as many of us did
when we bought our flats, that you are buying into home
ownership, actually, if you buy as a leaseholder, you do not own
anything—you are just tenants by any other name, with very few
rights? Maybe the new Prime Minister does not know the details. I
urge the Minister to draw her attention to this very important
issue, or it makes the home ownership rhetoric only just
that.
(Con)
I am taking back from this Question a very clear view of what
this House wants doing about these leaseholder issues. It was in
the Government’s manifesto, and we are due to deliver these
changes within this Parliament, but I shall certainly take back
the views of this House, which have come across very strongly
this afternoon.
(Con)
My noble friend may be aware that leaseholders trying to control
their energy and electricity usage have no control over the
energy and electricity being used in the common parts of the
building. Is that something that she might take up with the new
Energy Secretary of State at BEIS in due course?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for that question. The Government have
confirmed that we will provide equivalent support of £400 for the
households who will not be reached through the Energy Bills
Support Scheme. This includes those on communal heating systems,
where they are currently excluded. The Government are due to
announce in the autumn details of how those households will
receive £400 of support. The energy security Bill introduced in
July will also give Ofgem powers to set prices for consumers on
heat networks where necessary.
(CB)
Can the Minister to add yet another item to the long list of
things that she is going to take back to the Secretary of
State—the special position of leases for retirement housing?
People moving into retirement housing is a very good thing,
because it frees up family homes, and we want people to be in
more suitable accommodation in old age, but people are rightly
put off by not understanding, and sometimes by being ripped off
by, the lease arrangements that govern their service charges and
other fees. Could she draw particular attention to that? Possibly
a solution may lie in the new legislation, as it comes forward,
specifying the content that will go into each leasehold that will
be permitted in future.
(Con)
I thank the noble Lord for that. I am personally aware that this
is an issue in housing for those over 50 and 55. I shall try my
best to urge the department to take on board those issues when it
comes to the next piece of leaseholder legislation.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, I have one final thing for the Minister to take back to
the new Secretary of State. There are a couple of really good
Private Members’ Bills on these issues, including the Leasehold
Reform (Reasonableness of Service Charges) Bill and the Leasehold
Reform (Disclosure and Insurance Commissions) Bill.
(Con)
Noted, my Lords.
