Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made to ensure the safety of multi-storey car parks given the increasing number of heavy electric vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Responsibility for the safety of a building and its occupants rests with building owners and is covered by Occupiers Liability and Health and Safety legislation. A building designed to carry vehicles on multiple levels will have an engineered load bearing capacity; it is the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that operational weight limits take into account the type or structural condition of the building and its capacity to support vehicles. The standards used for the structural design of buildings (Eurocodes) and referred to in the statutory guidance to the Building Regulations with regards to structural safety (Approved Document A) are currently under review by a panel of international experts. We expect the review of these standards to include considerations associated with electrical vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect cladding manufacturers to make an appropriate contribution to fix cladding issues identified following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to my answer to question HL 5795 on 8 March 2023. The Government expects developers to do the right thing irrespective of where they are based.
To date, 49 developers have signed a developer remediation contract with the Government, committing to remediate or pay to remediate buildings that they developed or refurbished. Several of those signatories are foreign-owned.
On 3 July 2023, we made regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme. Members of the Scheme will be required to enter into and comply with the developer remediation contract. Any eligible developer who does not do so will be prohibited from carrying out major development and from securing building control approval. Any overseas-based developer that meets the criteria will be eligible for the Scheme. Similarly, the Government's Building Safety Levy will apply to in-scope developments by all developers, irrespective of where the developer is based.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to persuade foreign developers to contribute to fix cladding issues identified following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to my answer to question HL 5795 on 8 March 2023. The Government expects developers to do the right thing irrespective of where they are based.
To date, 49 developers have signed a developer remediation contract with the Government, committing to remediate or pay to remediate buildings that they developed or refurbished. Several of those signatories are foreign-owned.
On 3 July 2023, we made regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme. Members of the Scheme will be required to enter into and comply with the developer remediation contract. Any eligible developer who does not do so will be prohibited from carrying out major development and from securing building control approval. Any overseas-based developer that meets the criteria will be eligible for the Scheme. Similarly, the Government's Building Safety Levy will apply to in-scope developments by all developers, irrespective of where the developer is based.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a non-qualifying leaseholder's ability to pay for building safety remediation, given that developers must meet an annual profit condition of £10 million and freeholders must meet the net wealth test of £2 million per relevant building.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There is no test of ability to pay for freeholders; the £2 million ‘contribution condition’ merely determines whether freeholders must meet all remediation costs for qualifying leaseholders or whether they can seek capped contributions from them. Likewise, the ‘annual profit condition’ of £10 million is an initial level above which we are seeking to apply the Responsible Actors’ Scheme to developers; it is not a figure below which developers are somehow exempt from meeting the cost of remediation.
Once a building is remediated, the qualifying status of a lease should not have an impact on valuation, or mortgage lending. Major mortgage lenders made clear in a statement in March 2022 they would lend on buildings subject to remediation and guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published in December 2022 provides a clear approach on valuing properties impacted by building safety issues.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that once buildings are remediated, there is a mechanism to remove the non-qualifying status so that it does not affect (1) property valuation, (2) mortgage lending, and (3) saleability in perpetuity.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There is no test of ability to pay for freeholders; the £2 million ‘contribution condition’ merely determines whether freeholders must meet all remediation costs for qualifying leaseholders or whether they can seek capped contributions from them. Likewise, the ‘annual profit condition’ of £10 million is an initial level above which we are seeking to apply the Responsible Actors’ Scheme to developers; it is not a figure below which developers are somehow exempt from meeting the cost of remediation.
Once a building is remediated, the qualifying status of a lease should not have an impact on valuation, or mortgage lending. Major mortgage lenders made clear in a statement in March 2022 they would lend on buildings subject to remediation and guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published in December 2022 provides a clear approach on valuing properties impacted by building safety issues.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out to assess the impact of recent and forthcoming legislation on the supply of new and existing rental accommodation in the private sector.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The number of rented properties has almost doubled since 2004 – peaking in 2016 and remaining roughly stable since. In fact, the most recent data shows that the number of PRS properties increased by 11,000 in the year to March 2022.
We are committed to robust monitoring and evaluating of the private rented sector reform programme and its impact on the sector. The Renters (Reform) Bill Impact Assessment is currently being scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee and we will publish it during the Bill's passage through Parliament.
We recognise that good landlords play a vital role in providing homes for millions of people across the country. We have designed our reforms to ensure landlords can continue to invest and have confidence in the market.
The government has made a number of interventions to support the Build to Rent sector, boosting housing supply, diversifying the private rental sector, and increasing quality and choice for renters in cities and towns across England.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to incentivise existing and new potential landlords to invest in the supply of private rented accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The number of rented properties has almost doubled since 2004 – peaking in 2016 and remaining roughly stable since. In fact, the most recent data shows that the number of PRS properties increased by 11,000 in the year to March 2022.
We are committed to robust monitoring and evaluating of the private rented sector reform programme and its impact on the sector. The Renters (Reform) Bill Impact Assessment is currently being scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee and we will publish it during the Bill's passage through Parliament.
We recognise that good landlords play a vital role in providing homes for millions of people across the country. We have designed our reforms to ensure landlords can continue to invest and have confidence in the market.
The government has made a number of interventions to support the Build to Rent sector, boosting housing supply, diversifying the private rental sector, and increasing quality and choice for renters in cities and towns across England.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work has taken place to create a series of "green towns" around the concept of Welwyn Garden City.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Well planned, well-designed, locally led garden communities will play a vital role in helping to meet this country’s housing need well into the future, providing a pipeline of new homes. Our Garden Communities Programme supports 47 locally led garden communities, which have the potential for around 300,000 homes by 2050. We have not prescribed a single template for a garden community, as each will have its own clear sense of identity and are expected to exhibit exemplary place-making qualities.
The Garden Communities programme recognises that strong local leadership is crucial, and this locally-led programme relies on local authorities identifying appropriate locations, developing and delivering a long-term vision for these new communities.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to make an announcement on the next generation of new towns.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Well planned, well-designed, locally led garden communities will play a vital role in helping to meet this country’s housing need well into the future, providing a pipeline of new homes. Our Garden Communities Programme supports 47 locally led garden communities, which have the potential for around 300,000 homes by 2050. We have not prescribed a single template for a garden community, as each will have its own clear sense of identity and are expected to exhibit exemplary place-making qualities.
The Garden Communities programme recognises that strong local leadership is crucial, and this locally-led programme relies on local authorities identifying appropriate locations, developing and delivering a long-term vision for these new communities.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are approaching foreign developers and cladding manufacturers to secure contributions to fix cladding issues.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government have made it clear that they expect all those who contribute and profited from affected buildings to take responsibility for fixing them. As part of this, we expect developers to do the right thing, irrespective of where they are based. The developer remediation contract published on 30 January is an important step towards making sure this happens. A number of developers with overseas owners have been invited to sign the contract.
Furthermore, the Building Safety Levy can be charged on new residential developments that require building control approval. As it will be charged as part of the building control process, all developers will have to pay it on developments that are in scope - regardless of whether they are based in the UK or not.
The Department's Recovery Strategy Unit has also spearheaded legal action against recalcitrant freeholders and is actively investigating the concerning conduct of various companies across the built environment, including contractors and construction product manufacturers.