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Baroness Taylor of Bolton, chair of the House of Lords industry and regulation committee, has expressed dissatisfaction with the Government’s response to the regulatory inquiry into estate agents.
She wrote to Housing Minister Lee Rowley yesterday, sharing the committee’s “disappointment” with the Government’s position following the estate agent investigation.
The letter is as follows:
Congressman Lee Lowry
Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Building Safety
Housing and Community Improvement Category
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Dear Minister,
Regulation of Real Estate Agents
I thank you for your letter of 10 May 2024 in response to the Committee’s letter of 22 March 2024 to the Secretary of State.
We recognize that the Government has undertaken significant legislation to reform the housing market in the form of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill and the Tenancies (Reform) Bill. As you know, our research found that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill “to some extent addresses the power imbalances faced by leaseholders”, but our witnesses They felt that these provisions were not sufficient to address the issues faced by leaseholders.
However, we were disappointed by the brevity of your response to our letter and your position that the Department would only discuss these issues after the two bills mentioned above have been passed by Parliament. When we wrote to the Ministry on March 22, we requested and expected a response to all the conclusions and recommendations, but in your letter we receive no response to any of them. This is particularly disappointing given that it was the Department that asked for a written response to the Committee rather than the oral evidence session that we had requested. Furthermore, given the brevity of your letter, it was even more frustrating that we received it two weeks after the deadline we set (April 26, 2024). Overall, we do not believe this is a satisfactory approach to parliamentary scrutiny of government policy.
We note your desire to discuss these important issues further in the future and welcome any requests for discussion that you may suggest. However, given parliamentary scrutiny, a full written response to the committee is expected.
Original conclusions and recommendations.
Sincerely,
baroness bolton taylor
Industry and Regulatory Committee Chairs