Speeches by Pennycook.

“And the provider can choose to confer commonhold membership rights on the shared owner. That will not be automatic, but again, it is in line with the Law Commission’s recommendations in that respect.”

“No, and like any piece of legislation, lots of secondary legislation is required to enact it. I cannot sit here and give you a commitment that we will publish the draft SI on the day we publish the substantive Bill.”

“What is the question?”

“It is my preference and my intention to include those fixes in this Bill, subject to receiving collective agreement and getting that through the process of the King’s Speech. The point I am trying to make is that the valuation rates consultation is not the constraint to switching on those provisions. It is the flaws in…”

“It is probably worth saying that as the Bill progresses, LEASE, as a Government-supported service, will provide regular updates to consumers on what it means for them going forward.”

“I think that was said in a personal capacity, rather than as the chair of LEASE—it should have been, because otherwise it would have been blurring the lines between two roles.”

“That will be forthcoming in the coming months. The important point here is that we will go out to consult on the capitalisation and deferment rates, which, as you know, under the 2024 Act the Secretary of State sets. I just want to make the point which I have tried to stress on previous occasions: we could have consult…”

““Risky” is not the word that I would use.”

“It is worth my noting, as a Minister, the extent to which we can direct LEASE. Obviously, helping consumers to get ready for commonhold is a huge part of what LEASE will need to do over the coming years. I will formalise that direction in my 2026-27 chair’s letter to it, because, among other things, that is a huge part…”

“As a general point, the information needs of buyers under commonhold will not be wholly dissimilar to the needs of buyers in resident-led leasehold blocks, which are already a feature of the housing market. We expect this process to be simpler and quicker than that for leasehold flats, once it is bedded in—there will o…”

“I will weigh that up and make a judgment, but it will be good to have your general view.”

“A future piece of legislation would be slower than this one obviously, which is before us.”

“In terms of actually switching on the ban, that decision has not yet been made.”

“As I said—this is what the consultation was designed to elicit—we have to weigh up whether there will be a significant impact on housing supply, for example, which would mean that the transition has to look a certain way, rather than another way.”

“On the principle you raise, that is one of the considerations in the timeline for impact. There is a world in which we could get a number of discrete managing agent provisions into this draft Bill, and that would be switched on at the point that we receive Royal Assent, and any secondary legislation required. If we tak…”

“We just have not made a decision yet.”

“One of the things that we want to get at is that, as I think the Committee would acknowledge, developers and other parts of the market will need time to familiarise themselves with the commonhold model and what that means. This is quite a big transition. That is why we are seeking views on transitional arrangements and…”

“What do you mean by the take-up?”

“There is not a chance on earth that I can confirm what is in the King’s Speech to this Committee today. I am sorry.”

“I do not have a clear timeline that I can share with you, not least because I cannot pre-empt this King’s Speech, let alone future King’s Speeches.”