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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 21 November (HLWS240), whether their plan to strengthen the regulation of managing agents including mandatory professional qualifications, will include landlords, including housing associations, which self-manage their estates rather than appointing independent agents.

As set out on 21 November, the Government intends to consult next year on implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on service charges and on legal costs, bringing these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include measures to drive up transparency and will apply to housing associations who charge leaseholders service charges unless specifically exempted.

With regard to the question about the regulation of managing agents, I refer the Noble Lady to the answer I gave to HL2579 which was answered on 28 November 2024. The Government has committed to introducing a Competence and Conduct Standard for registered providers of social housing and will set out next steps for implementing the standard in the coming months.

Registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes set out in the Regulator of Social Housing's regulatory standards, including the requirement to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas.