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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the Government's timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals to give freeholders rights to challenge service charges.

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. The Government is advancing a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices and raise standards in the leasehold and freehold markets.

Homeowners who pay estate rentcharges currently have limited rights to challenge these costs. The Government intends to legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate rentcharges as well as a right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager to manage the provision of services covered by estate rentcharges. We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.