Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of unsafe cladding on the ability of leaseholders to sell their flats; and what steps his Department plans to take to support those leaseholders.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ten major mortgage lenders have pledged to consider lending on properties in buildings which are 11 metres or above even if there are unresolved building safety issues. The building must be in a remediation scheme, and/or the leaseholder must qualify for the protections in the Building Safety Act and have completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. We engage with lenders to make sure they are upholding the pledge and gather supporting data.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has independently reviewed the most recent Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls completed by Vistry for French Court, SO14 2DZ.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not commissioned an independent review of a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls for this building.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the (a) results of the Remediation Programme Insurance Survey and (b) Government response to that survey will be published.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Remediation Programme Insurance Survey closed on 31 July. We are using the data collected to test the feasibility and scope of any future possible government intervention to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects. Due to the commercial sensitivity of the data, we will not be making the results public.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with insurance companies on costs for (a) residents and (b) leaseholders in buildings with (i) cladding and (ii) fire safety defects.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan published in July 2025, the department has been regularly engaging with the insurance industry to test the feasibility and scope of any potential options to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support is available to leaseholders to meet the costs of remediating non-cladding related fire safety defects (a) of fire doors and (b) in general.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Qualifying leaseholders are protected from the costs of non-cladding defects, with the maximum amount that can be charged capped at £15,000 in Greater London (or £10,000 elsewhere in England). In certain circumstances that cap may be zero, such as when the landlord is (or is associated with) the developer.
Regarding Fire doors specifically, those which have been incorrectly installed, or which have degraded prematurely may meet the definition of a non-cladding relevant defect and the cost of replacing them will be covered by the leaseholder protections.
Fire doors need to be replaced due to wear and tear, however, are not covered by the leaseholder protections and costs can be passed to leaseholders via their service charge.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of using (a) no-deposit and (b) deposit alternative schemes in the private rented sector on tenants; and what plans she has to ensure tenants are protected from costs associated with those schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is aware of the issues raised in 2023 by the Competition and Markets Authority in relation to deposit products.
While my Department has not conducted a detailed assessment of ‘zero-deposit’ or ‘deposit alternative’ products, we continue to monitor their impact on private rented sector tenants.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Tenancy Deposit Protection system, managing the six contracts which deliver the government-arranged schemes that protect tenants' deposits.
As part of the upcoming re-procurement of these contracts we are reviewing the current tenancy deposit system and will explore what improvements can be made to ensure the best possible protection for tenants.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the role of the mitigation hierarchy of (a) avoidance, (b) mitigation and (c) compensation in ensuring ecological protections (i) during the planning process and (ii) following the approval of new developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the principle that if significant harm to biodiversity resulting from a development cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for, then planning permission should be refused.
Any mitigation or compensation would be set out in the planning conditions and obligations associated with the planning permission, enabling local planning authorities to monitor the development's implementation and, if necessary, take enforcement action.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to require full planning permission to convert commercial premises for residential use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that there has been criticism of some of the homes delivered under permitted development rights for change of use. We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's planned timetable for abolishing ground rents and implementing broader leasehold reforms is.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
On 31 January 2025, provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to remove the two-year qualifying period in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.
On 10 February, we laid regulations in Parliament to implement the reforms contained in the Act concerning the Right to Manage and these will come into force on Monday 3 March.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle increases in building insurance premiums for leaseholders in high-risk buildings.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Buildings insurance premiums remain unacceptably high for many leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues, who have been paying too much for too long.
My officials have already started working with the insurance industry, as announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, to consider whether, for the duration of remediation programmes, government might support industry to reduce fire related liabilities, in order to reduce the high insurance bills some leaseholders are facing.
We have also launched a public consultation on the introduction of a fair and transparent fee for leaseholders to pay to those who manage insurance for their buildings.