Housing

EDM number 224 in 1995-96, proposed by Matthew Carrington on 18/12/1995.

That this House notes with alarm that certain freeholders of residential property are exploiting their leaseholders as demonstrated by the Evening Standard; further notes that the law as it presently stands is inadequate to help leaseholders stop these abuses; calls upon the Government at the minimum to introduce legislation in the forthcoming Housing Bill to give leaseholders greater powers and rights; and in particular calls upon the Government to ensure that when the freehold is sold, leaseholders have to be given proper notice of their right to buy the freehold and sufficient time in which to do so, that the freeholder has to inform the leaseholders of the relationship between the proposed buyer and seller and that when disputed service and other charges are levied by the freeholder that the leaseholders are not required to pay the freeholder's legal expenses in defending any resultant court action.

This motion has been signed by a total of 61 MPs.