Contributions
829 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Of course, commonhold is not within the scope of the Bill. Indeed, the way in which the Government framed your remit meant that your report was closely constrained in what it…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Indeed. Currently, a leaseholder who has three or more flats in a development is instantly disqualified from participating in an enfranchisement claim. The Law Commission…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Improve the lot of leaseholders, yes. At one point slightly earlier, you seemed to give the impression that we were—I think this is the polite way of saying it—polishing an…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q One way of tackling this would surely be to enable all leaseholders ultimately to gain the benefits that freeholders, or people who have a share of the freehold, currently have,…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Well, it has been with us for a very long time, hasn’t it? Professor Hopkins: Yes. So the system has to work, and that is what the Bill achieves in relation to leasehold.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)I think the law has done a pretty good job of that over the years.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Mr Brewis, I think we all welcome the FCA’s work to try and make things more equitable for leaseholders, so thank you for your endeavours there. I am sure you will be familiar…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Okay. Should there be a case in which an FCA broker is unable to provide a written contract to a first-tier tribunal, would you find that strange? Matt Brewis: Yes.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Thank you. After a three-year campaign, that poor leaseholder managed to find out, through the leasehold tribunal, that £1.6 million had been paid to her landlord for the…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q How do you do that if you cannot get a written contract? Matt Brewis: Under our new rules, which came into force at the start of this year, that needs to be provided.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q But that is not actually here in the Bill, is it? Would it be helpful if, under clause 31 or at another appropriate place, we were to say that a written copy of any insurance…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q But the Bill does not. Matt Brewis: I believe that would be duplication of a clause that is already in the new rules from the regulator, which require a broker to provide that…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q No, sorry; there is a distinction here. You are talking about the broker providing it to the landlord; I am talking about the landlord providing it to the leaseholder. If you…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q To be absolutely clear: a leaseholder can write to the insurer—the insurance company—to obtain a copy of the contract that their landlord has, which insures their property? Matt…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Does that rely on the landlord telling the leaseholder who the contract is with? Matt Brewis: Which insurer it is?16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Yes. Matt Brewis: Oh, goodness.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Because at the moment, there is no compulsion on the landlord to do that, is there? It is certainly not in this Bill. Matt Brewis: If you follow that chain of events, when they…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Then the leaseholder has no access to the contract. Matt Brewis: One would hope—expect—that it is a very low-likelihood situation, but that would be the case.16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q We have made legislation on the basis of optimism before, and it has not proved successful. Matt Brewis: For some buildings that have material issues around fire safety or other…16 Jan 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (Second sitting)Q Of course, those fees for insurance services are chargeable under clause 31, in proposed new section 20G of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, but there is nothing in the Bill…16 Jan 2024