3. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 2 April 2019.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:53, 2 April 2019

Thank you for raising your concerns about leasehold and also the issues facing many people who own freehold properties that are subject to management fees on various estates across Wales. I know it's something that you've raised many times in this Chamber. As a result of some of the discussions that we had early on, I was able to take some early action in my previous portfolio to deal with some of the issues in the leasehold market. So, we came to an agreement with the developers that no new houses would be brought forward through Help to Buy and no new houses would be brought forward by developers as leasehold unless absolutely necessary. So, the latest statistics show that only three houses have been sold as leaseholds through Help to Buy now, and all of those three were bought off-plan prior to the new rules being introduced. So, we're managing to have some success, certainly in changing the way that the market operates through the levers that we have with Help to Buy, but I know that there are much wider concerns about people who already own leasehold properties. This is one of the reasons that the Minister is working with her multidisciplinary task and finish group on residential leasehold reform, which is working alongside the work being undertaken by the Law Commission to explore what changes might be needed through legislation, but also what else we could be doing more urgently to address some of the issues. I know the Minister will be keen to update you as and when the leasehold group does report, which I understand won't be too long.