Speeches by Pennycook.

“I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words on my role in developing the draft Bill. I can say to him very plainly: yes. If he looks at the consultation on service charge protections that we released last summer, he will see proposals that specifically address non-litigation costs and other measures. However, as I said, …”

“As I have said, it is the Government’s intention to ensure that the draft Bill, and the final product that eventually comes forward after scrutiny by the Select Committee, is made law as soon as possible so that leaseholders can benefit from the new provisions. In general terms, no one will pay more than the ground ren…”

“We launched two comprehensive consultations before Christmas, in respect of how we switch on the consumer protections set out in the 2024 Act for those living on freehold estates and, more widely, on how we end the prevalence of private management arrangements of the kind that I think the hon. Member is referring to. T…”

“It is clear that this draft Bill cannot do absolutely everything, and it is the Government’s considered opinion that we do not need provisions on service charges in this Bill—not least because, for the reasons I have set out, we do not intend to implement a service charge cap—and that the provisions in the 2024 Act wil…”

“I am more than happy to have a separate conversation with my hon. Friend about the specific conditions pertaining to leasehold houses. She will know, of course, that the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 made a number of changes in that area. In general, we want to arrive at a situation, once our reform agenda is…”

“We did see a considerable amount of deregulation under the coalition Government and their successors. I will give the previous Government credit, as I have done before, for bringing forward the 2024 Act; it does include some limited relief for leaseholders and some new rights and protections. However, we need to take i…”

“I have a lot of respect for the hon. Gentleman and his service on the Select Committee. He has a lot of expertise in this area. I would say two things in response. First, we published two consultations on the home buying and selling process to try to modernise that process, and we are looking at some of those issues as…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for her kind words. She was an incredible champion of the reform agenda for this legislation when she served as Secretary of State. She raises the matter of vested interests. I hope that the House—and you, Mr Speaker—will take from the Government’s robust defence to the legal challenge brou…”

“The House can, of course, help us to speed up the progress of the Bill; 2028 is only a rough estimate based on the time it will take for the Bill, once it has passed its draft phase and scrutiny from the Select Committee, to be introduced in its final form and to get through both Houses. We will then also have to switc…”

“I am more than happy to write to my hon. Friend about the issue of shared ownership specifically. She will know that through our £39 billion social and affordable homes programme, we are making improvements to shared ownership as a tenure model. More widely, I can assure her that the provisions in the draft Bill will b…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for his fair and reasonable question. The Government consider the intervention on ground rents that we are making through this draft Bill to be a justified and proportionate approach to the specific problems that leaseholders face as a result of high and harmful ground rents. We are introd…”

“I must say, without getting into the detail of the circumstances of the hon. Lady’s constituents, it is hard to know which of the measures will benefit them most. If they are subject to high ground rent charges, the cap on introduction will benefit them hugely on its introduction. If they have suffered from the threat …”

“My Department always strives to ensure that the House is updated at the earliest possible opportunity. I note and appreciate fully the points you have made, Mr Speaker, and will ensure that they are passed on to my ministerial colleagues. With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Governm…”

“We want to act as quickly as possible, particularly to bring in the new consumer protections provided for by the 2024 Act.”

“Absolutely. Commonhold is a purpose-built tenure designed specifically for people to own and manage a shared building without a third-party landlord and without a ground rent. We want to see its uptake grow significantly over this Parliament, and that is what the measures in this draft Bill are designed to provide for.”

“We are absolutely committed to strengthening regulation of managing agents. Some proposals on charges were set out in the consultation on protections for leaseholders, which we released last summer, but there is more to come.”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. She, like me, will have constituents who are subject to high, unfair ground rent charges and, in some cases, to escalating ground rent charges, particularly those that are inflation-linked. People across the country see those ground rent charges stack up to significant amounts and they will…”

“I must correct the hon. Gentleman: it does not solely deal with leasehold, as I made clear in the statement. The draft Bill will repeal sections 121 and 122 of the Law of Property Act 1925, ending the disproportionate remedies that give rent charge owners access to a draconian enforcement regime on freehold estates. As…”

“I think that leaseholds will exist for some time to come. Indeed, people in various buildings may not, for whatever reason, wish to convert to commonhold, but it is absolutely our intention to make it easier to do so and to encourage as many leasehold homeowners as possible to make the change, because it is a radical i…”

“I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesman for those questions. He often mentions Lloyd George, and I share his passion for Lloyd George’s radicalism on property law and other measures. I will address the specific points that he raised. During the passage of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, I was clear that my i…”