Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to cap ground rents for leaseholders who bought their lease before the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 came into force.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what means of redress are available to leaseholders who cannot afford legal representation who wish to contest service charges under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
If leaseholders wish to contest service charges, they can seek advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the Leasehold Advisory Service - both organisations offer free advice.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to (a) cap and (b) bring forward other measures on ground rents for people who held their lease prior to commencement of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has already legislated via the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022. The Act makes homeownership fairer and more transparent for thousands of future leaseholders future leaseholders, by preventing landlords under most new residential long leases from requiring a leaseholder to pay a financial ground rent. If any ground rent is demanded as part of a new residential long lease that is regulated by the Act, it cannot be for more than one peppercorn per year.
We understand that some leaseholders have suffered as a result of high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. We want to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.
The CMA have secured commitments benefiting over 20,000 leaseholders.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainian nationals are hosted in Poplar and Limehouse constituency under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here .
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of Islamophobic hate crime; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to mark Islamophobia Awareness Month 2022.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he is taking steps to adopt a definition of Islamophobia.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department will provide for domestic violence refuges in each of the next three years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities are funded to meet their duties, included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation including refuges.
We have already provided £125 million to local authorities in each of 2021/22 and 2022/23, and will be announcing the 2023/24 and 2024/25 allocations shortly.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to require developers to offer compensation to buyers when the completion of their new home is delayed by developers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We expect all housing developers to deliver good quality housing, to deliver it on time, and to treat house buyers fairly. It is disappointing when new homes are not completed on time. For most new build homes purchased off-plan, the exchange date may be a long time before completion as the home. New build home contracts typically have a long-stop date, which is an estimated completion date and the rights and responsibilities of the homebuyer and developer should be set out in the contract, including the circumstances a deposit and other money is returned.
The Government is committed to improving redress for new build homebuyers when things go wrong. In July 2021, the UK Government introduced the Building Safety Bill into Parliament, which includes provision for the New Homes Ombudsman scheme to provide dispute resolution to, and determine complaints by, buyers of new build homes against developers. This will include the pre-completion period of new build homes. Once arrangements for the scheme have been made, developers will be required to become and remain members of the scheme.
Where the ombudsman determines a dispute in favour of the complainant, they may order redress such as paying compensation, and where this is not complied with, the scheme may expel the member.
To ensure that developers know what is expected of them and homebuyers know what to expect, the Bill includes provision for a developers' code of practice about the standards of conduct and standards of quality of work expected of the schemes members'.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the New Homes Review 2022, that 64 per cent of new homes were completed on time.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We expect all housing developers to deliver good quality housing, to deliver it on time, and to treat house buyers fairly. It is disappointing when new homes are not completed on time. For most new build homes purchased off-plan, the exchange date may be a long time before completion as the home. New build home contracts typically have a long-stop date, which is an estimated completion date and the rights and responsibilities of the homebuyer and developer should be set out in the contract, including the circumstances a deposit and other money is returned.
The Government is committed to improving redress for new build homebuyers when things go wrong. In July 2021, the UK Government introduced the Building Safety Bill into Parliament, which includes provision for the New Homes Ombudsman scheme to provide dispute resolution to, and determine complaints by, buyers of new build homes against developers. This will include the pre-completion period of new build homes. Once arrangements for the scheme have been made, developers will be required to become and remain members of the scheme.
Where the ombudsman determines a dispute in favour of the complainant, they may order redress such as paying compensation, and where this is not complied with, the scheme may expel the member.
To ensure that developers know what is expected of them and homebuyers know what to expect, the Bill includes provision for a developers' code of practice about the standards of conduct and standards of quality of work expected of the schemes members'.