Written questions by Paffey.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provisions in the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill for leaseholders of houses on mixed estates containing flats and houses.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring newly elected councillors to undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks after taking office.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what progress the remediation enforcement unit within the Building Safety Regulator has made on its objectives.

The External Remediation team assess building control applications for proposed remediation works to the external envelope of a building, such as cladding, renders, and balconies. Individual team members liaise with the applicant throughout the application lifecycle, updating them on key milestones and offering wider support through regular educational webinars. An Account Manager function was established in March 2026 responsible for proactively identifying and engaging with key stakeholders to support improvements in the quality of applications. A new Remediation Enforcement Unit (REU) became operational in March 2026. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has identified 650 registered higher-risk buildings that have either combustible Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) or high-pressure laminate as part of their external wall system. The principal accountable persons of buildings with combustible ACM have been directed to apply for a building assessment certificate and are already being assessed via that route. During April, the REU will contact the remaining buildings to ask for a relevant fire risk assessment and plan, and check that the removal (of cladding) proposal is appropriate to the materials and layout. The REU is also investigating 83 buildings referred to the BSR by the Cladding Safety Scheme (run by Homes England) with unconfirmed combustible materials. The REU has ruled out 20 of these buildings as not having combustible materials, with the remainder being contacted to provide the necessary fire risk assessments and plans.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of the new batching model being trialled by the Building Safety Regulator to reduce the length of time taken to assess building control applications, including the number of applications being considered.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) publishes monthly data on Building Control Approval applications, including progress on the batching pilot launched in September 2025. Latest data, published in February 2026, showed average approval times for new cases of 18 weeks, representing an almost threefold improvement in processing times when compared to May-July 2025. More complex cases managed through Account Managers are taking around 25 weeks on average for approval. The BSR has also addressed the backlog of legacy Gateway 2 applications through a substantial expansion of operational capacity and the integration of specialist expertise. These measures have strengthened decision-making, sped up the processing of both new‑build and remediation cases, and supported more efficient partnership working with industry. In parallel, enhanced guidance, developed jointly with the Construction Leadership Council, is supporting applicants to submit clearer, higher‑quality applications that demonstrate compliance, helping to further reduce determination times. There are currently four live Gateway 2 applications within the Stockport constituency (SK1–SK5): two remediation cases and two Category A applications.

Communities and Local Government, what the remit is of the external remediation team at the Building Safety Regulator; and how it is engaging with stakeholders on applications.

The External Remediation team assess building control applications for proposed remediation works to the external envelope of a building, such as cladding, renders, and balconies. Individual team members liaise with the applicant throughout the application lifecycle, updating them on key milestones and offering wider support through regular educational webinars. An Account Manager function was established in March 2026 responsible for proactively identifying and engaging with key stakeholders to support improvements in the quality of applications. A new Remediation Enforcement Unit (REU) became operational in March 2026. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has identified 650 registered higher-risk buildings that have either combustible Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) or high-pressure laminate as part of their external wall system. The principal accountable persons of buildings with combustible ACM have been directed to apply for a building assessment certificate and are already being assessed via that route. During April, the REU will contact the remaining buildings to ask for a relevant fire risk assessment and plan, and check that the removal (of cladding) proposal is appropriate to the materials and layout. The REU is also investigating 83 buildings referred to the BSR by the Cladding Safety Scheme (run by Homes England) with unconfirmed combustible materials. The REU has ruled out 20 of these buildings as not having combustible materials, with the remainder being contacted to provide the necessary fire risk assessments and plans.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring planning permission to change residential homes to short-term lets.

While short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government recognise that excessive concentrations of them impact on the availability and affordability of homes for local residents to buy and rent, as well as local services. We are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets as well as second homes.

Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the extent and impact of mortgage providers rejecting mortgages for leasehold properties with ground rent over 0.1% of the sale price.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 74455 on 15 September 2025. In addition, measures in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which came into effect in December, will prevent long leases with grounds rents of £250 (or £1,000 in London) from repossession under provisions in the 1988 Housing Act.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to leaseholders with construction defects relating to roof waterproofing where the (a) developer, (b) freeholders and (c) warranty underwriter are in dispute.

Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe.Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. This procedure should be followed in the first instance.If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the difference in cost between the warranty and the true cost for leaseholders with major water ingress defects in their home.

Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe.Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. This procedure should be followed in the first instance.If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.

Communities and Local Government, how many residential buildings have been decanted due to (a) unsafe cladding and (b) other fire safety defects in each year since the passage of the Building Safety Act 2022.

Building decants arise in one of two ways – either in a planned way as part of a schedule of works or in an emergency situation due to emerging safety concerns. Not all decants are reported to the Department, particularly if they are planned. Emergency decants are a local operational matter led either by the entity responsible for the building or by local regulators. Where emergency decants are reported to uswe work with local regulators and responsible entities to ensure residents are placed at the centre of decision-making by all parties. In the past year, 10 emergency decants related to fire safety defects have been reported to the Department. We have also collaboratively with local regulators and other parties to prevent decants from taking place and since December 2023 this work has allowed more than 6000 households to remain in their homes safely. When local authorities take enforcement action against a mid or high-rise residential building, the Department asks the local authority to voluntarily upload details to a designated data platform. Local authorities share details of buildings subject to enforcement under powers within the 2004 Housing Act, including inspections, information gathering notices and statutory notices requiring action (such as improvement and prohibition notices). Local authorities can also share data pertaining to remediation orders and remediation contribution orders under the Building Safety Act 2022. We publish enforcement information as part of the monthly remediation data release on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on when the remediation enforcement unit within the Building Safety Regulator will be set up.

The remediation enforcement unit is currently recruiting and intends to begin operations in December 2025. The purpose of this unit is to enforce compliance by holding building owners to account, accelerate remediation works and support local enforcement.

Communities and Local Government, when the new Fast Track Process for Building Safety Regulator applications will be live; and what the criteria for it will be.

The Innovation Unit (previously referred to as the Fast Track process) was launched on the 4th August with the majority of cases on track to meet the 13-week target. The Innovation Unit has initially been used only for new-build applications. As its capacity grows, this will be extended to other categories of application.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce new burdens funding for local authorities associated with the passage of the Renters Rights Bill.

My Department will set out the funding we intend to make available to local authorities to meet new burdens arising from the Renters’ Rights Bill in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has independently reviewed the most recent Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls completed by Vistry for French Court, SO14 2DZ.

The Department has not commissioned an independent review of a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls for this building.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of unsafe cladding on the ability of leaseholders to sell their flats; and what steps his Department plans to take to support those leaseholders.

Ten major mortgage lenders have pledged to consider lending on properties in buildings which are 11 metres or above even if there are unresolved building safety issues. The building must be in a remediation scheme, and/or the leaseholder must qualify for the protections in the Building Safety Act and have completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. We engage with lenders to make sure they are upholding the pledge and gather supporting data.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with insurance companies on costs for (a) residents and (b) leaseholders in buildings with (i) cladding and (ii) fire safety defects.

As set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan published in July 2025, the department has been regularly engaging with the insurance industry to test the feasibility and scope of any potential options to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects.

Communities and Local Government, when the (a) results of the Remediation Programme Insurance Survey and (b) Government response to that survey will be published.

The Remediation Programme Insurance Survey closed on 31 July. We are using the data collected to test the feasibility and scope of any future possible government intervention to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects. Due to the commercial sensitivity of the data, we will not be making the results public.

Communities and Local Government, what support is available to leaseholders to meet the costs of remediating non-cladding related fire safety defects (a) of fire doors and (b) in general.

Qualifying leaseholders are protected from the costs of non-cladding defects, with the maximum amount that can be charged capped at £15,000 in Greater London (or £10,000 elsewhere in England). In certain circumstances that cap may be zero, such as when the landlord is (or is associated with) the developer. Regarding Fire doors specifically, those which have been incorrectly installed, or which have degraded prematurely may meet the definition of a non-cladding relevant defect and the cost of replacing them will be covered by the leaseholder protections. Fire doors need to be replaced due to wear and tear, however, are not covered by the leaseholder protections and costs can be passed to leaseholders via their service charge.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of using (a) no-deposit and (b) deposit alternative schemes in the private rented sector on tenants; and what plans she has to ensure tenants are protected from costs associated with those schemes.

The government is aware of the issues raised in 2023 by the Competition and Markets Authority in relation to deposit products.While my Department has not conducted a detailed assessment of ‘zero-deposit’ or ‘deposit alternative’ products, we continue to monitor their impact on private rented sector tenants.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Tenancy Deposit Protection system, managing the six contracts which deliver the government-arranged schemes that protect tenants' deposits.As part of the upcoming re-procurement of these contracts we are reviewing the current tenancy deposit system and will explore what improvements can be made to ensure the best possible protection for tenants.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the role of the mitigation hierarchy of (a) avoidance, (b) mitigation and (c) compensation in ensuring ecological protections (i) during the planning process and (ii) following the approval of new developments.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the principle that if significant harm to biodiversity resulting from a development cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for, then planning permission should be refused.Any mitigation or compensation would be set out in the planning conditions and obligations associated with the planning permission, enabling local planning authorities to monitor the development's implementation and, if necessary, take enforcement action.