Commonhold and Leasehold Reform

Meg Hillier Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I thank the right hon. Member for his fair and reasonable question. The Government consider the intervention on ground rents that we are making through this draft Bill to be a justified and proportionate approach to the specific problems that leaseholders face as a result of high and harmful ground rents. We are introducing the reforms to deliver on specific commitments in our manifesto and in the context of a significant number of wider reforms to the leasehold market. We have carefully weighed the different options to meet our manifesto commitment on ground rents and we have taken investors’ concerns into account when developing the policy, which we believe strikes a fair balance between leaseholders, freeholders and those invested in ground rents. We recognise that the reforms will have a significant impact on freeholders and investors, but we consider this a justified and proportionate response.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

I should first declare that I am a leaseholder. I welcome very warmly the Minister’s statement, particularly the measure on commonhold, which is something that we Co-op MPs have been campaigning on for a long time. We also welcome that the cap on ground rents is in sight. There are issues in my constituency relating to the fact that a lot of my leaseholders are shared owners. Could the Minister tell us now—or write to me with the details—how shared ownership might be impacted by the changes? Could he also reassure us, given the complexities, that there will be some Government support, such as an advice hub or something to point people in the right direction, when it comes to how people will move from where they are to commonhold?

[Matthew Pennycook]

I am more than happy to write to my hon. Friend about the issue of shared ownership specifically. She will know that through our £39 billion social and affordable homes programme, we are making improvements to shared ownership as a tenure model. More widely, I can assure her that the provisions in the draft Bill will benefit leaseholders in her constituency in the way that she makes clear. I am happy to have a further conversation with her about how the reforms will benefit her constituents and what advice leaseholders can draw on, including the Government-backed Leasehold Advisory Service.