Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the level of funding allocated to local government on the ability of local authorities to maintain street cleaning services.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Street cleaning is delivered through the Local Governance Finance Settlement, however responsibility for the policy is owned by DEFRA. Funding is delivered on a non-ringfenced basis through the Settlement, which gives local authorities maximum flexibility to deliver services as they see fit according to local needs. We recognise the vital role Local Government plays and this is why they will receive an additional £2.9 billion next year, the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to enable people who have potentially been mis-sold leasehold properties to purchase the freehold of those properties; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and more cost effective to help both future and existing leaseholders. Their report on Valuation was published on 9 January, and we are considering the recommendations. We are moving forward with legislation to ban new leasehold houses and reduce ground rents on future leases to zero. We will publish a draft bill as soon as possible.
The Government recognises that there are those who feel strongly that they were mis-sold their properties. The Government welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcement on 11 June 2019 that it was launching an investigation in this area. The CMA is considering the extent of any mis-selling and onerous term in the leasehold sector, including whether they might constitute ‘unfair terms’. The Government looks forward to hearing progress on the CMA’s work.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people who have been mis-sold leasehold properties will be compensated.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and more cost effective to help both future and existing leaseholders. Their report on Valuation was published on 9 January, and we are considering the recommendations. We are moving forward with legislation to ban new leasehold houses and reduce ground rents on future leases to zero. We will publish a draft bill as soon as possible.
The Government recognises that there are those who feel strongly that they were mis-sold their properties. The Government welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcement on 11 June 2019 that it was launching an investigation in this area. The CMA is considering the extent of any mis-selling and onerous term in the leasehold sector, including whether they might constitute ‘unfair terms’. The Government looks forward to hearing progress on the CMA’s work.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle the mis-selling of leasehold properties.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and more cost effective to help both future and existing leaseholders. Their report on Valuation was published on 9 January, and we are considering the recommendations. We are moving forward with legislation to ban new leasehold houses and reduce ground rents on future leases to zero. We will publish a draft bill as soon as possible.
The Government recognises that there are those who feel strongly that they were mis-sold their properties. The Government welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcement on 11 June 2019 that it was launching an investigation in this area. The CMA is considering the extent of any mis-selling and onerous term in the leasehold sector, including whether they might constitute ‘unfair terms’. The Government looks forward to hearing progress on the CMA’s work.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to end the use of escalating ground rents on leasehold properties.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government has set out a package of measures to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold market, this includes a ban on the unjustified use of leasehold for new houses and restricting ground rents for both houses and flats to a peppercorn.
The Government is committed to providing support to existing leaseholders. We are putting pressure on developers who have sold leases with onerous ground rents, including those that double more frequently than every 20 years, to provide support for current leaseholders. Some developers have introduced schemes to assist individuals with onerous leases which is welcome, but these must go further and faster.
To facilitate this process, the Government announced a ‘Public Pledge for Leaseholders’ on 28 March 2019. This contains a commitment for freeholders to identify any existing leases within their portfolio which contain ground rents that double more frequently than every 20 years. They have also committed to contact the relevant leaseholders and offer to vary their leases. We are pleased that over 60 institutional freeholders and developers have signed the pledge, which also provides safeguards for future leaseholders.