Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that freeholders have equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge unfair service charges.

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders.

On 21 December 2017, the Government set out a package of measures to tackle abuses and unfair practices in the leasehold market.

This includes bringing forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows to ensure that freeholders who pay charges for the maintenance of communal areas and facilities on a private or mixed use estate, can access equivalent rights as leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of service charges.