The Cladding External Wall System (EWS)
EWS1 forms may be required when selling/re-mortgaging leasehold flats in blocks. Find out about the EWS process and associated issues here.
Leasehold high-rise flats: who pays for fire safety work?
This briefing paper considers the debate about who is responsible for paying for fire safety works on blocks of flats in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Constituency data: house prices
Constituency-level data on house prices and an indicator of the affordability of house prices in each area
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Constituency Casework
Leasehold reform in England and Wales: What’s happening and when?
The Government will reform leasehold tenure and make buying/extending lease agreements “easier, faster, fairer and cheaper”. There’ll be a two-part legislative process. This page explains what’s known about the reforms and timetable.
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Research Briefing
What is affordable housing?
This briefing paper considers how affordable housing is defined in England and looks at key trends in the affordability of different tenure types. It examines the supply of affordable housing and the role of Housing Benefit in enabling households to access and retain affordable housing.
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Research Briefing
Extending home ownership: Government initiatives
This House of Commons Library Briefing Paper describes the specific Government initiatives which have been developed in order to assist first-time buyers into home ownership and, in some cases, to help existing owners who are seeking to move. The paper includes some comment on these schemes.
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Research Briefing
Stamp duty land tax on residential property
This Commons Library paper discusses the reforms to taxation of sales of residential property that have been made in recent years, before looking at earlier debates about the way house sales have been taxed.
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Research Briefing
Housing options for serving and ex-military personnel
This paper outlines the housing options open to serving and ex-military personnel, it does not cover service accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence.
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Research Briefing
A voluntary Right to Buy for housing association tenants in England
The 2015 Conservative Government committed to extend the Right to Buy to assured tenants of housing associations on a voluntary basis. The Conservative Party's 2019 Manifesto said the voluntary Right to Buy scheme would be maintained. No implementation date for full roll-out has been announced. A large regional pilot scheme in the Midlands was launched on 16 August 2018. An evaluation of the findings was published in February 2021. The Government has said that the impact of the pilot scheme will be assessed before decisions are made on the next steps. This paper provides background on the statutory Right to Buy and commentary on progress in developing and extending it to assured housing association tenants as a voluntary scheme.
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Research Briefing
Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions (England)
This House of Commons Library briefing paper outlines temporary measures to assist homeowners to manage their mortgage payments during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. It considers lenders’ obligations towards homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments, outlines possible sources of advice for mortgagors, and discusses the mortgage support schemes that were introduced in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
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Research Briefing
Stimulating housing supply – Government initiatives (England)
This briefing paper summarises the main Government initiatives since 2015 aimed at increasing housing supply in England, aside from planning measures. The 2019 Government is continuing, and building on many of these initiatives.
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Research Briefing
Leasehold and commonhold reform
This paper considers trends in leasehold ownership, ongoing problems associated with the sector, and Government plans for reform. The 2017 Government committed to legislate in this area "as soon as Parliamentary time allows". The Conservative Manifesto 2019 contained a pledge to “continue with our reforms to leasehold.” There is an intention to legislate in the forthcoming Parliamentary Session to set future ground rents to zero as the first part of "seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament". The paper includes analysis of leasehold transaction data, including constituency statistics.
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Research Briefing
Freehold Covenants
This Commons Library briefing paper provides information about the freehold covenants. Specifically, detecting, enforcing, modifying or releasing a covenant.
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Research Briefing
Shared ownership (England): the fourth tenure?
This House of Commons Library briefing paper explains how shared ownership housing operates in England. It outlines Government policies to extend shared ownership, including proposals for a new national model for shared ownership and a new right to shared ownership for housing association tenants. The paper also examines the key barriers to extending shared ownership.
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Research Briefing
Freehold houses: estate charges
It is becoming increasingly common on new-build private estates for freeholders to be required to contribute to the maintenance of the estate’s communal areas and facilities. This practice has been referred to as 'fleecehold'. This short paper provides background on the issue and sets out the Government's proposed reforms. The paper mainly covers England - section 7 covers Wales.
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