Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will take steps to (a) improve the transparency of estate charges for freeholders, (b) give freeholders the power to challenge estate charges and (c) give freeholders more powers to take over estate management through a Right to Manage company.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to taking steps to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair maintenance costs to an end and we will consult on the best way to achieve this.
In the interim, we will act to provide residential freeholders with greater protections by implementing the relevant provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The implementation of that Act will require an extensive programme of secondary legislation, and we will set out the details in due course.