Shared Ownership Schemes
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Department has considered a buy-back scheme for shared ownership leaseholders whose homes become unsaleable due to building safety faults.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.
The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.
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