Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Stafford Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

12. What her planned timetable is for introducing the commonhold and leasehold reform Bill.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

22. What steps she is taking to reform the leasehold sector.

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

The Government will introduce the commonhold and leasehold reform Bill this year, marking the beginning of the end of the feudal leasehold system. We will continue implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 as quickly as possible, and we will bring forward further legislation for the independent statutory regulation of property agents.

[Gregory Stafford]

I recently met constituents in Grayshott and Haslemere who face poor communication from managing agents, with little transparency on where the service charges and costs that they are forced to pay go. Meanwhile, Surrey and Hampshire are set to lose out under the Government’s funding review, leaving many of those same residents facing higher council tax bills. Will the Secretary of State finally tell us when the leasehold reform Bill will be published, and give a guarantee that any savings delivered through that reform will not simply be wiped out by the higher council tax bills caused by her Government’s funding decisions?

[Angela Rayner]

We promised that we would bring that legislation forward soon, possibly in time for it to be a Christmas present—you never know, Mr Speaker. Council tax went up every year under the Conservatives. They left local governments without the funds they needed; we have funded councils on the basis of need. We support the councils; the Opposition did not.