It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for West Ham (Ms Brown). We share a similar part of the world: Essex and the east of London. In Romford, just as in West Ham and the London boroughs to the east of the capital, we have seen a huge increase in the number of flats and high-rise blocks being built over the last 20 years. Havering is a town and country borough and we have not had many flats in the past, but suddenly we are seeing huge numbers of that kind of accommodation being built. This brings huge numbers of problems with it, including what we are debating today.
I thank the Minister for bringing this Bill forward. I hope that it will deal with many of the issues that colleagues across the House have raised today, because they are very real. I sense that there is consensus on both sides of the House that serious action needs to be taken, because this can really destroy people’s lives and ruin them; they have saved to buy a property and they have a leasehold, yet they are fleeced by sharks and
managing agents who pile on the costs, and by armies of lawyers who make their lives miserable and threaten them with losing their property all together. This is not right for the people we all represent.
I am now dealing with these cases in Romford on a daily basis. The hon. Lady mentioned many of the problems in West Ham, and I have examples in the Steelway apartments in the centre of Romford. I visited those apartments only a few weeks ago and saw the problems that people there are facing. They are failing to get responses from the management agents and those responsible, they are paying money for no service, and they are being ripped off by management agents who are not doing the job they are paid to do. I went to Rubicon Court, a fairly new development built only a few years ago, and was shocked—absolutely flabbergasted —to see how badly the residents are being looked after. The service they are paying for has completely failed. I saw mould, rats, rubbish and CCTV cameras that do not work. That is not acceptable and, when the Bill is passed into law, I hope the Minister will ensure that it is effective. It is no good passing legislation unless it is effective and comes into force quickly.
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I have concerns about the speed with which this legislation will be enacted. People are suffering and living in terrible conditions, and they are spending huge sums from their savings to deal with these problems. Will the Minister assure the House that there will be an effective way to implement the Bill quickly? Will he also consider the points that many Members have raised about those who could lose their property? What a horrific prospect it is for people who have saved to buy their leasehold that, because of the issues we have discussed, they are bullied and threatened with losing the property they have worked so hard to purchase.
There are so many issues, and I hope the Minister will take on board everything that has been said today. This is a cross-party issue, and we want the best for our constituents who live in these properties and whose lives are made very difficult by the current system. I hope this Bill will improve the lives of all our constituents, and the Minister will have my full support in anything further he can do to ensure that people in Romford, and in every constituency represented here today, are able to live better lives. People should not wake up with the feeling that everything they have saved for their future is being lost because of deficient legislation and a failure to enforce the law.
I have spent a lot of time visiting Romford residents in recent months, and I visited many of these places. I intend to go back because, if there is one thing I have learned about being a Member of Parliament, it is that we are here to serve the people we represent. I am very proud to serve the good people of Romford.