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

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the statement on X by the Minister for Housing and Planning on 31 January that the Government could not commence the "relevant enfranchisement provisions" in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 until specific flaws within the Act were rectified, what specific flaws he was referring to; what plans they have to rectify these flaws through legislation; whether the Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Bill contains those legislative proposals; and if it does not, for what reason they are not included.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains a small number of specific but serious flaws which would prevent certain provisions from operating as intended and that need to be rectified via primary legislation.

The Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 HLWS240 (attached) outlined two flaws regarding a loophole in the valuation scheme set out in the Act, and an omission on shared ownership lease extensions.

Primary legislation will also be needed to address the following flaws:

• Allow third parties to leases, such as resident-led management companies, to recover contributions toward their process costs in some instances. Without this change, these companies may be at risk of insolvency, which would be an unintended outcome of the reforms requiring landlords to pay their process costs;
• Correct an unintended constraint on landlords’ existing redevelopment break rights that applies in certain limited circumstances; and
• Correct technical cross references and make consequential amendments to ensure the smooth implementation of the Act.

As set out in the WMS of 27 January 2026 HLWS1278 (attached), the government will rectify these flaws in primary legislation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Minister for Housing and Planning’s statement on 27 January (HC Deb col 750) that an immediate peppercorn cap on lease payments “could carry significant risks”, what are those risks; what assessment of those risks have been made by (1) the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, and (2) the Treasury, and if they will publish these analyses; what meetings ministers have had with representatives of freehold estates and pension funds since taking office; and what risks, if any, they consider an immediate peppercorn cap poses to building remediation and safety.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is capping ground rent at £250 per year, before changing to a peppercorn in 40 years. These measures, as set out in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, deliver on the manifesto commitment to “tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges” and “bring the feudal leasehold system to an end”. This policy will directly address cost of living pressures for leaseholders, and issues with buying, selling and mortgaging properties with high ground rents, before ending ground rents for good.

We recognise that these reforms will have a significant impact on freeholders and investors, but the government considers this is a justified and proportionate intervention to address harms and deliver a fair and effective housing market. We have taken investors’ concerns into account when developing this policy, which we believe strikes a fair balance between leaseholders, freeholders and those invested in ground rents.

For further information, I refer the Noble Baroness to the (attached) Policy statement on ground rents published on 27 January 2026.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the concerns raised by the Resident Freehold Association that capping ground rents could cause a significant number of professional freeholders to become insolvent and impact remediation on up to 12,000 buildings.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is capping ground rent at £250 per year, before changing to a peppercorn in 40 years. These measures, as set out in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, deliver on the manifesto commitment to “tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges” and “bring the feudal leasehold system to an end”. This policy will directly address cost of living pressures for leaseholders, and issues with buying, selling and mortgaging properties with high ground rents, before ending ground rents for good.

We recognise that these reforms will have a significant impact on freeholders and investors, but the government considers this is a justified and proportionate intervention to address harms and deliver a fair and effective housing market. We have taken investors’ concerns into account when developing this policy, which we believe strikes a fair balance between leaseholders, freeholders and those invested in ground rents.

For further information, I refer the Noble Baroness to the (attached) Policy statement on ground rents published on 27 January 2026.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Minister for Housing and Planning’s statement on 27 January (HC Deb col 750) that there is a difference between regulating the creation of new leases and affecting existing contracts and investments, what is the legal basis for this analysis, and what role the ECHR has had, if any, in informing this analysis.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

When considering reforms to leasehold, the government naturally takes account of number of factors including the right to peaceful enjoyment of property under Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. The courts have held that the government has a wide margin of appreciation in this area, including when making changes that have a purely prospective effect on existing leases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the removal of the two-child benefit limit to unemployed refugees receiving Universal Credit is perceived as fair by the public.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There are strict rules that govern who can access benefits. Parents who are not British or Irish nationals can only access Universal Credit with a valid immigration status of a kind that gives them the right to access public funds. Most migrants with temporary visas cannot access the benefit system. Access to public funds and benefits is usually at the point of settlement, which for most people will be after they have lived in the UK legally for five years, and the Home Office Earned Settlement policy consultation is looking at increasing this to ten years. The Home Office is also consulting on changing the default position to maintain No Recourse to Public Funds at settlement and lifting this only at the point of British citizenship. This would mean that migrants would need to wait longer to access benefits.

DWP also plans to consult on changes to the benefit rules to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to everyone arriving or returning to the UK.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Minister for Housing and Planning’s statement on 27 January (HC Deb col 753) that the Government do not plan to implement a service charge cap but that existing provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 would be “switched on at the earliest possible opportunity”, what assessment they have made of when the referred to provisions will be used.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 closed on 26 September 2025. We are analysing responses, including on service charges, and will bring the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter.