Leasehold Reform Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Viscount Hanworth
Main Page: Viscount Hanworth (Labour - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Viscount Hanworth's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right. Leaseholder issues are complex and contain a lot of legal issues that need to be dealt with. Therefore, we need to take our time, and we are doing so, but the government manifesto says that we will deal with this issue within this Parliament, and we intend to do so.
Viscount Hanworth (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that freeholders have been empowered to impose the costs of any litigation that has been initiated by an aggrieved leaseholder upon that leaseholder. When will that extraordinary anomaly in British law be corrected?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
The Government recognise that the existing statutory requirements do not go far enough to enable leaseholders to identify and challenge those unfair costs. We believe that leaseholders should not be subject to unfair legal costs and should be able to claim them from their landlords, and we are taking action to address that.