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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps with local authorities to remove the requirement for households on freehold estates to pay estate management charges, in the context of the New Homes Accelerator Programme.

As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November (HCWS244), the government remain committed to protecting residential freeholders on private and mixed-tenure housing estates from unfair charges. Next year we will consult on implementing the Act’s new consumer protection provisions for the up to 1.75m homes that are subject to these charges, and bring these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include ensuring that homeowners who pay an estate management charge have better access to information they need to understand what they are paying for, the right to challenge the reasonableness at the First-tier Tribunal (in England), and to go to the tribunal to appoint a substitute manager.

The New Homes Accelerator is a collaboration between the government, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, local authorities, developers and other key stakeholders. It aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.