Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funding he plans to allocate to the Medium Rise Pilot Scheme; and whether that funding will cover all outstanding works.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) opened in full on 24 July and is available to all eligible medium-rise buildings between 11 and 18 metres across England, and applications for high-rise buildings over 18 metres outside of London. The Scheme will provide funding for the management of unsafe cladding in England, where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible.
The CSS is one of a number of remediation schemes that is being funded by Government. Funding for the whole of the building safety programme will be met by a combination of the £5.1 billion already allocated by government, refunds from housing developers and revenue from the Building Safety Levy.
Further details on eligibility, the application process and further guidance can be found here.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether Hester Road building in London has been accepted on to the Medium Rise Pilot Scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) opened in full on 24 July and is available to all eligible medium-rise buildings between 11 and 18 metres across England, and applications for high-rise buildings over 18 metres outside of London. The Scheme will provide funding for the management of unsafe cladding in England, where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible.
The CSS is one of a number of remediation schemes that is being funded by Government. Funding for the whole of the building safety programme will be met by a combination of the £5.1 billion already allocated by government, refunds from housing developers and revenue from the Building Safety Levy.
Further details on eligibility, the application process and further guidance can be found here.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on liability for fire safety renovation costs on buildings over 18 meters.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Department has a range of guidance on the subject of fire remediation; guidance on the obligations on building owners under the Building Safety Act 2022 can be found here.
Where developers or building owners are not currently funding cladding remediation, the Government has accepted funding applications for the remediation of ACM and non-ACM cladding on high-rise residential buildings (buildings over 18 metres) from responsible entities. Should a registered charity also qualify as a responsible entity, their application would be treated in the same way as other responsible entities.
Guidance on how to apply to the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund for the remediation of ACM cladding can be found here.
Guidance on how to apply to the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund for the remediation of ACM cladding can be found here.
Guidance on how to apply for the remediation of non-ACM cladding via the Building Safety Fund can be found here.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has guidance on fire remediation works funding for registered charities in developments over 18 meters.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Department has a range of guidance on the subject of fire remediation; guidance on the obligations on building owners under the Building Safety Act 2022 can be found here.
Where developers or building owners are not currently funding cladding remediation, the Government has accepted funding applications for the remediation of ACM and non-ACM cladding on high-rise residential buildings (buildings over 18 metres) from responsible entities. Should a registered charity also qualify as a responsible entity, their application would be treated in the same way as other responsible entities.
Guidance on how to apply to the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund for the remediation of ACM cladding can be found here.
Guidance on how to apply to the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund for the remediation of ACM cladding can be found here.
Guidance on how to apply for the remediation of non-ACM cladding via the Building Safety Fund can be found here.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce proposals to help (a) protect leaseholders who reside in mixed use residential-commercial buildings from facing disproportionate shares of the total insurance costs of the building and (b) ensure that commercial entities in mixed use buildings contribute a proportionate percentage to the total insurance premium of a building.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State has previously announced that the Government intends to ban insurance brokers from sharing commissions with managing agents, landlords and freeholders. In parallel, we are working with industry to ensure charges can be justified based on work undertaken. Questions regarding the regulation of insurance brokers' commissions should be directed to the Financial Conduct Authority.
Individual leases set out what service charges pay for and the proportion of the charge that each leaseholder is required to pay. We are committed to protecting and empowering leaseholders by giving them more information on the things for which their service charges pay, and ensuring service charges are transparent and communicated effectively, removing barriers to challenge when things go wrong. This will help leaseholders more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are also planning reforms to prevent unjustified legal fees when challenging costs.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to support leaseholders who are facing higher insurance premiums due to commission charged by insurance brokers to managing agents and landlords.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State has previously announced that the Government intends to ban insurance brokers from sharing commissions with managing agents, landlords and freeholders. In parallel, we are working with industry to ensure charges can be justified based on work undertaken. Questions regarding the regulation of insurance brokers' commissions should be directed to the Financial Conduct Authority.
Individual leases set out what service charges pay for and the proportion of the charge that each leaseholder is required to pay. We are committed to protecting and empowering leaseholders by giving them more information on the things for which their service charges pay, and ensuring service charges are transparent and communicated effectively, removing barriers to challenge when things go wrong. This will help leaseholders more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are also planning reforms to prevent unjustified legal fees when challenging costs.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to introduce a cap on the commissions that can be made from insurance premiums on leasehold properties.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State has previously announced that the Government intends to ban insurance brokers from sharing commissions with managing agents, landlords and freeholders. In parallel, we are working with industry to ensure charges can be justified based on work undertaken. Questions regarding the regulation of insurance brokers' commissions should be directed to the Financial Conduct Authority.
Individual leases set out what service charges pay for and the proportion of the charge that each leaseholder is required to pay. We are committed to protecting and empowering leaseholders by giving them more information on the things for which their service charges pay, and ensuring service charges are transparent and communicated effectively, removing barriers to challenge when things go wrong. This will help leaseholders more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are also planning reforms to prevent unjustified legal fees when challenging costs.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department collects data on the average rental costs for (a) properties accepting pets and (b) properties refusing pets in the private rented sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Further to the answer given in response to Question UIN 174324 on 3 April 2023, the Government will legislate to give tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) a legal 'right to request a pet' that the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. Officials have discussed these proposals with animal welfare organisations.
The department does not collect data on the average rental costs for properties accepting or refusing pets in the PRS.
The Government understands the pressures that people are facing with the cost of living and has taken decisive action to support households. We are providing support for worth over £26 billion in 2023/24, in addition to the benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and disabled people. Cost of Living payments will be available in 2023/24 including £900 for households on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households, and £150 for individuals on disability benefits.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken steps to support people who live in privately rented properties with the costs of keeping a pet during the rise in the cost of living.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Further to the answer given in response to Question UIN 174324 on 3 April 2023, the Government will legislate to give tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) a legal 'right to request a pet' that the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. Officials have discussed these proposals with animal welfare organisations.
The department does not collect data on the average rental costs for properties accepting or refusing pets in the PRS.
The Government understands the pressures that people are facing with the cost of living and has taken decisive action to support households. We are providing support for worth over £26 billion in 2023/24, in addition to the benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and disabled people. Cost of Living payments will be available in 2023/24 including £900 for households on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households, and £150 for individuals on disability benefits.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with animal welfare charities on the impact of the supply of housing on pet owners.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Further to the answer given in response to Question UIN 174324 on 3 April 2023, the Government will legislate to give tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) a legal 'right to request a pet' that the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. Officials have discussed these proposals with animal welfare organisations.
The department does not collect data on the average rental costs for properties accepting or refusing pets in the PRS.
The Government understands the pressures that people are facing with the cost of living and has taken decisive action to support households. We are providing support for worth over £26 billion in 2023/24, in addition to the benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and disabled people. Cost of Living payments will be available in 2023/24 including £900 for households on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households, and £150 for individuals on disability benefits.