Home ownership

This 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. It covers progress in implementing the Government decision to fund remediation work for affected blocks with ACM cladding in the social and private sectors. In March 2020, a £1 billion Building Safety Fund was announced to fund the removal of unsafe non-ACM cladding on high-rise blocks in the social and private sectors.

The Government announced plans to tackle the growing problem of newly built houses being sold as leasehold rather than freehold and to limit ground rents on newly created lease agreements

This briefing paper summarises the main 2015 and 2017 Government initiatives aimed at increasing housing supply in England, aside from planning measures. The 2019 Government will continue with, and build on many of these initiatives. March 2020 saw publication of Planning for the Future – this paper set out a series of actions the 2019 Government intends to take to meet its housing supply commitments.

Constituency-level data on house prices and an indicator of the affordability of house prices in each area

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.

This briefing paper considers trends in leasehold ownership and ongoing problems associated with the sector. 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.” The paper was updated to include new statistics released in September 2019.

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. The paper has been updated to include new data on housing affordability.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA 2016) received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016. This briefing paper outlines progress in implementing the Act's provisions. Several key measures in the Act will not be taken forward, such as 'pay to stay' and mandatory fixed-term tenancies for local authority landlords in England.

This briefing paper outlines the legal position and potential remedies available where people find themselves living next door to tenants of private landlords or owner-occupiers who exhibit anti-social behaviour (ASB). The briefing focuses on the legal position in England.

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 covers England only.

We look at the issues surrounding leaseholds and where they are most likely to take place.

An explanation of the assistance available to assist long leaseholders of social landlords in paying for major works. In August 2014 the Coalition Government introduced a cap on the amount that can be recovered from these long leaseholders where the work has been carried out with funding from central Government. The cap has been referred to as "Florrie's law." The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has recommended the introduction of a Code of Practice for social landlords.

This Commons Library briefing paper provides an overview of the the rights of residents who live year-round on mobile home parks. The main focus of the paper is on mobile home owners in England but sections on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are included.