Matt Western
Main Page: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Mr Betts
Absolutely. We have said that we think there ought to be retrospective changes to the permission charges and the ground rents where they are clearly onerous. The Competition and Markets Authority ought to look at whether those contracts are enforceable, because they are, in many cases, unreasonable. There are two ways we can and should approach that. I am pleased to see that the Minister has sat through this statement on the Government Front Bench, because in the end she is the one who is going to have to deliver a lot of these changes. I think she is hearing very clearly from across the House that there is a real demand that this whole matter be addressed properly by the Government and that they implement the Committee’s recommendations.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
It has been an honour to serve on the Select Committee, and may I say how well chaired it is? I thank the APPG for its contribution, and indeed all those who have campaigned on the matter for so long. I was the victim of leasehold many years ago, when I found myself in the straitjacket of the costs of the freeholders. What was clear from the evidence we received was just how far-reaching the problem is. What has been going on is a national scam—the words “racket” and “scandal” have also been used—so we absolutely must get to grips with it as quickly as possible.
Over the past two years, buyers on one of the recently built estates in my constituency have been told by the salespeople that they would not have to pay as much council tax as others because they would be paying a separate charge for their verges to be looked after. Local authorities now have a responsibility to address that issue with those estates.
Mr Betts
We made it clear right at the beginning of our report that there should be a clear explanation from the seller of what extra charges there might be for the future maintenance of areas of open space that have not been taken over by the council. If they are to be managed by a private company, its service charge should be open and transparent, but all that information should also be provided right at the beginning. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that this is a scandal. I referred to 700 pieces of written evidence, but every day we are continuing to get leaseholders writing to us, having seen our evidence sessions on the television or read about them on the website, saying, “Me too; we have been badly treated and we want something done about it.”