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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Departments holds on the leasehold-related costs for the average leaseholder in an apartment block.

The English Housing Survey contains data on service charge costs and ground rents. The latest data available for 2022-2023, published on 18 July 2024, found that owner occupier leaseholders paid on average £419 in ground rent per year and £1650 per year in service charges. This covers leaseholders in both flats and houses. Details can be found at: English Housing Survey data on leaseholders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Some leaseholders will also pay specific charges like administration, permission and event fees. Leaseholders may also face one-off bills to meet the costs of major works. Obligations to meet these costs will be set out in the lease.

In relation to building safety, under the Building Safety Act 2022 ‘qualifying leaseholders’ in relevant buildings over 11m are protected from costs associated with the remediation of unsafe cladding and non-cladding building safety defects. For qualifying leaseholders, their maximum cap for non-cladding remediation and interim measures is £15,000 in Greater London and £10,000 elsewhere in England.

The Impact Assessment provides further details and can be found at: The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (England) Regulations 2022 - Impact Assessment (legislation.gov.uk)