I spoke during a debate on a Select Committee report examining the implications of the Government’s draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. For too many people, leasehold has become the ultimate con: a system that is overly complex, difficult to navigate and stacked against residents. While successive reforms have sought to strengthen leaseholder rights, they have too often added further layers of complexity. Any new legislation must focus on simplifying the system and making it fairer and more transparent, including for housing association residents. 

Even getting a response from a property managing agent is a challenge for some of my constituents, yet there is no effective redress mechanism for this. This is unacceptable. I echoed the report’s call for an independent regulator. This needs not just teeth but claws, including the power to fine managing agents, remove licences, and prosecute repeat offenders who we know are gaming the system.