More work needed to address 鈥榝leeceholds鈥�, government says
The government has committed to a new consumer code for housebuilders as part of its response to the competition watchdog鈥檚 study of the housing market.
In February this year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released the findings of its year-long investigation into the state of the housebuilding market in England, Scotland and Wales.
The report concluded that 鈥渢he housebuilding market is not delivering well for consumers and has consistently failed to do so over successive decades鈥� and established a probe into eight housebuilders after uncovering alleged breaches of the Competition Act.
The report made 11 recommendations to address major issues in the housing market.
In its response to the study, published this morning, the government committed to a new consumer code, as well as a New Homes Ombudsman service, which it said would empower homeowners to challenge developers over quality issues.
The government also accepted in principle the recommendation of greater protections for people living under private management arrangements.
It said it would implement measures to improve transparency around what homeowners are paying for as part of the Leasehold and Freehold Act 2024.
Other recommendations it said would require further work and consultation, including the best way to address so-called 鈥渇leecehold鈥� estates, where homeowners on new build estates are locked into private maintenance contracts for communal areas.
鈥淭he CMA was right to highlight areas for improvement in the housebuilding market,鈥� said housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook.
鈥淭hat is why we will empower homeowners to challenge developers over poor quality new homes and bad service, and we will consider the best way to address the injustice of 鈥榝leecehold鈥� private estates to bring unfair costs to an end.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: 鈥淲e welcome the government鈥檚 response to our recommendations on housebuilding, which we put forward to get people better protections and open the door to delivering more good quality homes.
鈥淗ousing is an essential area for consumers and driving economic growth, so we will assist government as they take forward our solutions, alongside progressing our wider housing work.鈥�
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