Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support shared owners affected by (a) building remediation works and (b) increasing service charges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building.
By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the various provisions of the Act into force.
Leaseholders in shared ownership properties whose leases qualify for protections set out in the Building Safety Act are protected from the costs of internal building safety defects, with a cost cap proportionate to their equity stake in the property.
All leaseholders can benefit from the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme or Developer Scheme for the removal of unsafe cladding. The Government understands the difficulties some leaseholders are still experiencing and has committed to review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and to accelerate the pace of remediation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to promote shared ownership for potential homeowners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Prospective buyers can find out more about shared ownership from the information provided on Gov.UK. This information includes a search tool that prospective buyers can use to find social landlords in their local area offering homes for sale on shared ownership terms. The Government would always encourage prospective buyers to take independent professional and legal advice before purchasing a shared ownership home.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his open letter to registered providers on shared ownership and building safety of 19 December 2023, what information his Department holds on the number of providers that have made the details of (a) all relevant policies, (b) subletting and (c) selling and buyback terms available on their websites.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Following the Secretary of State’s letter to the sector last December, the department continues to work with registered providers of social housing and their representative groups, to ensure that relevant information is clearly available online for shared owners living in homes affected by building safety issues. We expect registered providers to update their websites with any necessary information at the earliest possible opportunity.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the level of home ownership in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lee Rowley
DLUHC publishes estimates of first-time buyer numbers as part of the English Housing Survey. See Chapter 3 and Annex 3.2 in: English Housing Survey2022 to 2023: headline report - GOV.UK. The Government does not hold data that is specific to (a) the Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
The Government has a range of schemes available to help improve access to home ownership, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and the Lifetime ISA. We have also doubled the threshold for Stamp Duty and expanded First Time Buyers Relief.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support first-time home buyers in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Lee Rowley
DLUHC publishes estimates of first-time buyer numbers as part of the English Housing Survey. See Chapter 3 and Annex 3.2 in: English Housing Survey2022 to 2023: headline report - GOV.UK. The Government does not hold data that is specific to (a) the Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
The Government has a range of schemes available to help improve access to home ownership, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and the Lifetime ISA. We have also doubled the threshold for Stamp Duty and expanded First Time Buyers Relief.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey indicating a third consecutive monthly increase in demand in the housing market.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
The Government closely monitors the state of the market and was pleased to see an increase in buyer demand in the latest RICS UK Residential Survey. We have taken a number of steps to support the market in recent months including extending the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, introducing the Mortgage Charter, reducing stamp duty and continuing our home ownership schemes such as First Homes, Shared Ownership and Lifetime ISA and our support for housebuilding.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Fifth Report of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee Report of Session 2024/25 on Shared Ownership, HC 61, published on 28 March 2024, what information his Department holds on transactions by registered providers to buy back shares from shared ownership leaseholders due to building remediation issues.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The department is considering the report by the Committee and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding has been allocated from the (a) UK Community Renewal Fund, (b) Levelling Up Fund, (c) Community Ownership Fund and (d) UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England and (iv) Northern Ireland (A) overall and (B) in each financial year for which figures are available; and if he will publish a breakdown by project.
Answered by Jacob Young
Information on the projects that these funds have supported and the dates when commitments were announced are publicly available and can be found on gov.uk:
Delivery of UKSPF is delegated to local authorities.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase levels of home ownership.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government has a range of schemes available to help improve access to home ownership, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and the Lifetime ISA. We have also doubled the threshold for Stamp Duty and expanded First Time Buyers Relief.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to provide cladding remediation funding for (a) leaseholders, (b) shared ownership leaseholders and (c) freeholders who purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme in timber-frame properties with UPVC cladding.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023. Department officials met with Barnet Council representatives on 10 April and will continue to discuss with them.