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Pressing for Leasehold Reform
- 6 hours ago
- 1 min read
Today in Parliament, I asked the Secretary of State for Housing whether the Government will go further to support leaseholders.
System-wide reform has been discussed for years, and while the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill will see ground rent capped at £250 and abolish the outdated threat of forfeiture, this is far from job done.
Leaseholders across Newbury and West Berkshire still lack control over their own homes, with spiralling service charges and ongoing issues, with managing agents like FirstPort continuing to trap residents in an outdated system they cannot escape.
In the Chamber, I raised the case of a block of flats in Newbury where the lift has been out of order for two years. One constituent told me that her son had to physically carry her husband downstairs when he moved into a care home. Despite rocketing costs, residents have been left without something as basic as reliable access to their own homes. This is unacceptable.
Progress on wider leasehold reform has been slow, and many of the changes in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act that were given Royal Assent 18 months ago are yet to take effect. The government need to go further and faster to give leaseholders greater control.
As a member of the Housing, Communities, and Local Government Select Committee (HCLG), I will be carefully scrutinising the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill in the coming weeks to ensure that proper regulation of managing agents is introduced and companies such as FirstPort are genuinely accountable to their residents.
