PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Leasehold (22 September 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward legislation that will prohibit freeholders from charging excessive ground rents and high service charges for leaseholders.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes a restriction of ground rents for newly created leases for both houses and flats to a peppercorn (zero financial value), through the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rents) Bill currently in Parliament and a ban on the unjustified use of leasehold for new houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows

In addition, the Government asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.

Answered by:
Eddie Hughes (Conservative)
18 October 2021