Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:15 am on 30 January 2024.
Mark Hendrick
Labour/Co-operative, Preston
With this it will be convenient to discuss Clause 48 stand part.
Lee Rowley
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As part of our reforms to drive up transparency, Clause 47 introduces new provisions to enable freehold homeowners of managed dwellings to request information from their estate manager.
Subsections (1) and (3) give owners of a managed dwelling the right to require an estate manager to provide information. As per subsection (2), that information may relate to estate management. One example of such information might be a health and safety assessment of communal areas. The estate manager will be required to provide relevant information that they have in their possession.
We know that, sometimes, the estate manager will not have that information to hand, so subsections (4) and (5) introduce an obligation for the estate manager to request the information from a third party and, if they hold it, that the third party is required to provide it. Subsections (6) and (7) create an obligation where the other person under subsection (4) does not have it, but knows who does. This person must make the request to the person who does have it, who in turn must provide the information, and—presumably—so on and so on.
Subsections (1) and (8) allow the Secretary of State to prescribe further details of these requirements in secondary legislation, such as the type of information to be provided, how a request can be made and when the request can be denied. We will consult on that to make sure that it works effectively. I commend the clause to the Committee.
Clause 48 introduces additional provisions to give full effect to the right of an owner of a managed dwelling to obtain information under clause 47. Subsections (2) and (3) allow homeowners the right to access premises where they can inspect or make copies of any information that they have requested. It also requires information to be provided within a time specified by the Secretary of State in regulation.
Subsections (7) and (8) set out further provisions that might be covered in regulation made by the Secretary of State, including the circumstances in which the specified period is to be extended and how the requested information should be provided. These measures will ensure that estate managers do not delay in providing information to the homeowner.
None the less, we also recognise that there is a cost associated with providing information, so subsection (6) allows the estate manager to charge through an estate management charge. The sort of things that the estate manager will be able to charge for include making copies of information, but they will not be able to charge for granting homeowners access to premises so that they can inspect the information located there. That seeks to mirror existing leasehold provisions to ensure that we are improving transparency and ensuring that estate managers are answerable to the homeowner. I commend the clause to the Committee.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
