Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the guidance in the Homes England Capital Funding Guide to protect shared owners from financial hardship when they sublet their property.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. They can use Recycled Capital Grant Funding or alternative resources to do so. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria, and they are expected to publish all relevant policies on their websites in a clear and accessible format.
The Government does not collect information about shared ownership providers’ policies regarding repurchase of homes from shared owners where building safety issues are present.
Regarding subletting requests, Homes England’s Capital Funding Guidance for shared ownership is clear. For properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let, including up to a market rent, should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England. Where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of registered providers who currently have a ‘buyback’ policy for shared owners; and whether such policies are accessible from registered providers’ websites.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. They can use Recycled Capital Grant Funding or alternative resources to do so. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria, and they are expected to publish all relevant policies on their websites in a clear and accessible format.
The Government does not collect information about shared ownership providers’ policies regarding repurchase of homes from shared owners where building safety issues are present.
Regarding subletting requests, Homes England’s Capital Funding Guidance for shared ownership is clear. For properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let, including up to a market rent, should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England. Where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential barriers to registered providers using the Recycled Capital Funding Grant to fund buybacks of non-mortgageable shared ownership properties in London.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. They can use Recycled Capital Grant Funding or alternative resources to do so. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria, and they are expected to publish all relevant policies on their websites in a clear and accessible format.
The Government does not collect information about shared ownership providers’ policies regarding repurchase of homes from shared owners where building safety issues are present.
Regarding subletting requests, Homes England’s Capital Funding Guidance for shared ownership is clear. For properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let, including up to a market rent, should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England. Where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that registered providers communicate any new guidance affecting shared owners subletting as a result of the building safety problems arising following the Grenfell Tower fire proactively and in a timely manner.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has considered the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill on affected housing sectors. The Bill contains measures to ensure the shared ownership model can continue to function, by excluding it from the assured tenancy regime to prevent shared owners from losing possession for rent arrears.
Regarding subletting requests, the Government’s guidance is clear. For properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let, including up to a market rent, should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England. Where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder.
We are discussing with stakeholders their concerns about situations where shared owners are unable to sell their property due to building safety issues and are subletting. We will ensure that the implications of the Renters’ Rights Bill for shared owners, who are subletting properties affected by building safety issues, are communicated clearly through guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill on shared owners who have become landlords because they are unable to sell their share in their property and sublet at a loss.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has considered the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill on affected housing sectors. The Bill contains measures to ensure the shared ownership model can continue to function, by excluding it from the assured tenancy regime to prevent shared owners from losing possession for rent arrears.
Regarding subletting requests, the Government’s guidance is clear. For properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let, including up to a market rent, should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England. Where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder.
We are discussing with stakeholders their concerns about situations where shared owners are unable to sell their property due to building safety issues and are subletting. We will ensure that the implications of the Renters’ Rights Bill for shared owners, who are subletting properties affected by building safety issues, are communicated clearly through guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of shared owners who rent out their property because they are unable to sell their share in their property as a result of building safety problems arising following the Grenfell Tower fire; of those, how many they estimate sublet at a loss; and how many face rent and service charge arrears.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners, impacted by building safety issues, who have sold or sublet their properties.
A number of steps have already been taken to accelerate the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings and improve outcomes for residents of all tenures, including shared ownership customers. This includes working closely with partners across the social housing sector to identify barriers to remediation and ways to overcome them. Further details of the Government’s plan to increase the pace of building remediation can be found in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, available at: Remediation Acceleration Plan - GOV.UK.
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria. The Government expects all relevant policies to be published on providers’ websites in a clear and accessible format.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of registered providers currently offering a ‘downwards staircasing’ policy to their shared owners and whether such policies are accessible and downloadable from registered providers’ websites so that any shared owner can access them.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners, impacted by building safety issues, who have sold or sublet their properties.
A number of steps have already been taken to accelerate the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings and improve outcomes for residents of all tenures, including shared ownership customers. This includes working closely with partners across the social housing sector to identify barriers to remediation and ways to overcome them. Further details of the Government’s plan to increase the pace of building remediation can be found in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, available at: Remediation Acceleration Plan - GOV.UK.
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria. The Government expects all relevant policies to be published on providers’ websites in a clear and accessible format.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to get information from registered providers on the number of shared owners who had to sell their flats in a distress sale as a result of the building safety problems arising following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners, impacted by building safety issues, who have sold or sublet their properties.
A number of steps have already been taken to accelerate the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings and improve outcomes for residents of all tenures, including shared ownership customers. This includes working closely with partners across the social housing sector to identify barriers to remediation and ways to overcome them. Further details of the Government’s plan to increase the pace of building remediation can be found in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, available at: Remediation Acceleration Plan - GOV.UK.
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria. The Government expects all relevant policies to be published on providers’ websites in a clear and accessible format.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of shared owners who had to sell their flats in a distressed sale as a result of the building safety problems arising following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners, impacted by building safety issues, who have sold or sublet their properties.
A number of steps have already been taken to accelerate the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings and improve outcomes for residents of all tenures, including shared ownership customers. This includes working closely with partners across the social housing sector to identify barriers to remediation and ways to overcome them. Further details of the Government’s plan to increase the pace of building remediation can be found in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, available at: Remediation Acceleration Plan - GOV.UK.
Social housing providers have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria. The Government expects all relevant policies to be published on providers’ websites in a clear and accessible format.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it will be possible to take account of geographical coherence when establishing a unitary council.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The statutory invitation letter of 5 February sent to leaders of all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring unitaries set out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed and decisions made on whether proposals are to be implemented. The criteria includes that proposals should be for a sensible geography which will help to increase housing supply and meet local needs.