Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The miners’ families and their descendants, whom he represent...

I have raised concerns on behalf of leaseholders in my constituency on many occasions in this Hou...

It is the case that this Bill covers England and Wales. Obviously the hon. Gentleman is aware tha...

I just want to make one or two additional points and then I am happy to give way.

Personall...

The right hon. Gentleman says that traditionally it was flats that were leasehold, but increasing...

I take the right hon. Gentleman’s point, but he is conflating two things. Help to Buy can be crit...

I particularly look forward to that part of the Secretary of State’s speech when he will tell us ...

My right hon. Friend makes an important point on permitted development rights. On the whole, I am...

An embarrassment of riches! I will give way to all colleagues currently standing, and then I will...

I represent an area with a lot of leasehold houses. It is just a cynical money-making scam. Some ...

I couldn’t agree more.

One of the challenges here is the lack of voice for our constituents in trying to address the pro...

I actually agree that commonhold is the ideal form of tenure, but there are certain technical que...

When we come to clause 27, will the Secretary of State clarify whether “best value” applies to le...

That is certainly true and I quite agree.

The Secretary of State was talking about leasehold houses. I was recently visited by a group of r...

I believe that it should be, and I encourage the hon. Lady’s constituents—as I am sure she has do...

It is a little disappointing that the Secretary of State did not refer to the Levelling Up, Housi...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman and his Committee for all their work—it was discourteous...

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way, and for the pragmatic approach that the Government h...

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. She and my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshi...

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for the way he is addressing this issue. Can I draw his a...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: a number of the people who have built, operated and retai...

I am not against what the Secretary of State is trying to do, but philosophically there is a reas...

I quite agree with my right hon. Friend. There are good landlords, and the Duchy of Cornwall has ...

When the Secretary of State is considering the evidence from the consultation he mentioned, will ...

My hon. Friend is completely right. I will be looking at the responses to the consultation, and I...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I believe that most of the people in the House are on the right side of justice, especially the h...

On ground rents, shared owners who have staircased their way up to 100% and become leaseholders o...

I believe it will. I must now make progress because I know a number of people want to contribute,...

I agree with the Secretary of State about the seriousness of the problem of excessive insurance p...

Broadly on the whole question of insurance, I am due to meet the chair, Baroness Morgan of Cotes,...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I won’t at this stage.

I freely admit that this Bill does not go as far as some in the Hous...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean) an...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I was going to say there are two other areas in particular tha...

Hear, hear!

Exactly: the Minister is, like me, a great fan of the Marquess.

In that debate the opening ...

It is a pleasure to open this debate on behalf of the Opposition. Let me say at the outset that w...

Does my right hon. Friend agree with what I said to the Secretary of State? The Government could ...

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The Government have been in government for 13 years...

The right hon. Lady has made it clear from the Dispatch Box that she opposes excessive ground ren...

I thank the Secretary of State, but he has just used the word “excessive”. If he wants to let me ...

My right hon. Friend is making a strong speech, and she accurately describes the mental and finan...

I absolutely agree. As I said before, and as I think the Secretary of State acknowledged, there i...

I suspect that my right hon. Friend will welcome the strengthening of the regulation of managemen...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I am so pleased about the work he has been doing since he...

Following on from that point, when the Select Committee looked at this issue—it is a real problem...

I absolutely agree, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his fabulous work in this area. Transpar...

This is a point that I wanted to make to the Secretary of State as well. There is a long-standing...

I thank my hon. Friend for that. Just as the Secretary of State earlier brought enthusiasm to the...

I call the Father of the House.

6.2 pm

The House will be grateful to know that the official Opposition support what the Government are t...

I thank my hon. Friend for what he is saying. Does he agree that, at some stage or other, these u...

I agree with my hon. Friend and pay tribute to him for his work in this field. It is worth noting...

I call the Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee.

6.12 pm

Generally, I welcome what is in the Bill, as does the Select Committee, based on our 2019 inquiry...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill does not address issues associated with the growth in lea...

There are real issues with that, which I was going to address later, but I will do so now. It is ...

My hon. Friend will remember that when the Labour Government overturned the case of Custins v. He...

I do remember that far back. Many will not remember the Labour Government’s ’67 reforms, but they...

I should have included the hon. Gentleman and the Select Committee in my thanks, and I do so bela...

The Father of the House makes a very reasonable point. My point is simply that forfeiture is curr...

One thing I think so many leaseholders find frustrating with our current court system and the fir...

That is an extremely good point. I do not think the Select Committee actually made that point, bu...

I am delighted to speak on this flagship piece of legislation, which will restore true home owner...

On the case that Liam Spender has so rightly been pursuing for his fellow leaseholders, does my h...

That is an excellent suggestion from my hon. Friend the Father of the House, with which I strongl...

The hon. Lady may not remember—but I do—that before the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 ...

I thank the hon. Member for the history lesson but, regardless, we are determined to fix this now...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, because I need to make progress. Perhaps I will allow the right hon. Gentleman to intervene a...

I thank the hon. Member for the work that she has been doing on this issue. However, she implies ...

Of course I am aware of that. When I was privileged to hold the position of Housing Minister, I s...

I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean), the former Housing Minister...

I appreciate everything that my right hon. Friend is saying. He will be aware, though, that many ...

My hon. Friend makes an important point and I welcome his work in this area over a long period.