Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of the average portfolio value of leaseholders that own more than three properties.

The department does not routinely collect data on bankruptcy or the reasons for them; we would welcome any specific concerns being raised directly should those with an interest in this policy area wish to do so.

It is important to note that there are multiple ways leaseholders can seek support in remediation. The Leasehold Advisory Service, funded by the department, provides free advice to leaseholders on legal matters.

Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 allows any leaseholders, including those who are leaseholders in a building subject to collective enfranchisement, to apply to the First Tier Tribunal to seek a Remediation Contribution Order from a previous owner, developer or persons associated with either of these, for funds to remediate relevant defects (including non-cladding defects) in their buildings.

Leaseholders in buildings subject to collective enfranchisement can also seek to recover costs of non-cladding defects through the retrospectively extended limitation period under Section 1 of the Defective Premises Act. We have also extended the reach of civil liability to associated companies of developers and a new cause of action which allows manufacturers of construction products to be pursued.

Another possible course of action would be to consider recourse to litigation under the Defective Premises Act where costs may be recovered from those responsible for historical defects on the building if construction was completed on or after 28 June 1992 and a dwelling in the building is unfit for habitation.

The Government published a call for evidence on leaseholder-owned buildings, which closed on 14 November 2022. We are carefully considering the evidence, which will help inform Government policy on how best to protect the leaseholders in leaseholder-owned buildings from the impact of building safety defects. This evidence has informed the policy thinking which resulted in the inclusion of building safety measures to further strengthen Remediation Contribution Orders in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.

The department does not hold data on the average value of the portfolios of leaseholders who own more than three properties. The department issued a call for evidence on 21 March 2024 to assess the impact of the leaseholder protections where a leasehold property is owned by two or more individuals. The Call for Evidence closed on 5 April 2024.