And you've just said it there now: the solicitors often are, if you like—. People are encouraged when buying a property to use a particular solicitor, so it sees our own local solicitors in the area out of the equation, if they are a large developer. And I think it is incumbent in any legal transaction, in conveyancing of any kind—I do believe that it should be that people do not go in where they are blindsided with not knowing that they're not buying the actual freehold. 

The potential exploitation sees home buyers lumbered with unfair agreements and spiralling ground rents. Direct Line for Business research in 2016 suggested that the average annual ground rent was £371 for new builds and £327 for older properties. And as I say, when it comes to buying the leasehold, these people were given a very short window of time in which to buy their freehold, and once that time went they were warned that they could escalate. What a worry that is to someone when they've bought what they believe to be their own home. 

These practices are unjust, unnecessary and need to stop, and I was really thrilled when the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, previously announced new measures to put a stop to unfair practices, and at that time I did actually approach our late colleague, Carl Sargeant AM. And I know that he was very keen and he said he would come back to me. Sadly, he has been unable to. But he was definitely going to look into this and bring about some kind of solution. 

Recent figures from the Leasehold Advisory Service show that 57 per cent of UK leaseholders generally regret purchasing a property in that way, and therefore these moves by the Conservative Government in Westminster to ban the sale of new-build leasehold properties, cut down on abuses of leasehold and ensure better protection for renters and home buyers are very welcome. So, all I would say is: let's go forward and let's do the same here in Wales. Our people when buying property, our Welsh householders, deserve every protection that is available across the UK. Thank you.