5. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Leasehold residential contracts

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:38 pm on 31 January 2018.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 4:38, 31 January 2018

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I just say that serving in the fifth Assembly is a great honour? When I compare it to the fourth Assembly, two things stand out: (1) the Deputy Presiding Officer's got much better—[Interruption.] Yes, we're very lucky. But, secondly, the way these debates are being used has brought a new dimension and a new power to the backbenches. Using this individual debate to generate cross-party support for a real issue of great concern to the people we represent I think is just fantastic.

Can I start then with Mick Antoniw? And, just talking about how many leaseholders there are out there—200,000 at least—he said a review of this whole area is well overdue, because at its heart often lies profound unfairness, and, in very vivid historical terms, talked about the eleventh century and a property owners' charter. It was slightly imbalanced in that there are some uses for leasehold, but, generally, the way it's had a renaissance recently, it is really troubling. You did say that existing legislation, the 2002 leasehold reform Act, has not really stood the test of time in doing what really is now needed.

He called for (1) urgent temporary steps—and I think the Minister may have satisfied us a bit there—and then, second, legislation to ban leasehold in most cases—there are some communal living options, such as apartments and flats, that may still require leasehold—but to ban it, really, in most cases here and to have our own legislation, which I thought Jane Hutt, then, echoed at the end, saying, 'We should lead the way in reform'. Perhaps that's the big idea that you shouldn't rule out at this stage, Minister, and I'm pleased that you are going to talk to the Law Commission about this.