Recommendations & Conclusions
7 items
6
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
It can come as an unpleasant shock during a difficult time to relatives of deceased shared owners to find out that they are liable to pay service charge costs when their relative living in an OPSO property has died, despite the fact that there is no longer anyone living in …
Read more
It can come as an unpleasant shock during a difficult time to relatives of deceased shared owners to find out that they are liable to pay service charge costs when their relative living in an OPSO property has died, despite the fact that there is no longer anyone living in the property using the services paid for through the service charge.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government and Homes England will amend the OPSO key information documents to clarify financial liabilities for beneficiaries and will consider mandating registered providers to include this information on their websites, while also offering providers options for supporting shared owners with the sale of their …
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
12
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
There is currently an evidence gap around Right to Shared Ownership, as a new product. It is unclear what the level of demand for this product is; what sort of value for money it represents; and what the likelihood is of achieving 100% homeownership through it. The Government must develop …
Read more
There is currently an evidence gap around Right to Shared Ownership, as a new product. It is unclear what the level of demand for this product is; what sort of value for money it represents; and what the likelihood is of achieving 100% homeownership through it. The Government must develop a clear understanding of Right to Shared Ownership to properly evaluate its role in future iterations of the Affordable Homes Programme.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government commits to collecting data on Right to Shared Ownership sales through its CORE dataset, including buyer characteristics, initial share purchased, and staircasing transactions, in order to build a clear understanding of the product.
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
13
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
The Government should actively collect and analyse data on Right to Shared Ownership, to better understand supply and demand for this emerging product. This data should include: the level of take-up of the Right to Shared Ownership; the characteristics of those who have exercised their right in this regard; the …
Read more
The Government should actively collect and analyse data on Right to Shared Ownership, to better understand supply and demand for this emerging product. This data should include: the level of take-up of the Right to Shared Ownership; the characteristics of those who have exercised their right in this regard; the average share owned through Right to Shared Ownership; and the proportion of users staircasing to 100%. (Paragraph 73) Shared ownership leases
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government commits to collecting data on Right to Shared Ownership sales through its CORE dataset, which will include information on buyer characteristics, initial share purchased, and staircasing transactions, largely addressing the committee's request.
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
14
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
It is clear that many shared owners lack access to advice and guidance which can explain to them clearly and impartially the complexities of leasehold tenure and their rights and responsibilities under their shared ownership lease, as well as advise them on lease extension. There is a lack of awareness …
Read more
It is clear that many shared owners lack access to advice and guidance which can explain to them clearly and impartially the complexities of leasehold tenure and their rights and responsibilities under their shared ownership lease, as well as advise them on lease extension. There is a lack of awareness among shared owners of the advice and guidance that is available to them from the Leasehold Advisory Service.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government states that Homes England's key information documents already provide relevant advice and guidance on shared ownership, including links to the Leasehold Advisory Service, and confirms ongoing dialogue to improve these documents.
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
15
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
Homes England should ensure that providers include simple guidance on lease arrangements within the Key Information Documents distributed to shared owners, including information on how rights and responsibilities are allocated and guidance on how to extend the lease. It should also make sure it is clearly signposting to existing advice …
Read more
Homes England should ensure that providers include simple guidance on lease arrangements within the Key Information Documents distributed to shared owners, including information on how rights and responsibilities are allocated and guidance on how to extend the lease. It should also make sure it is clearly signposting to existing advice and guidance services that may be helpful to shared owners in understanding their leases, such as the Leasehold Advisory Service, in these documents. These changes to guidance should be introduced before the end of the 2024 calendar year.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government states that Homes England's key information documents already include relevant lease information, rights/responsibilities, lease extension processes, and signposting to advice services like LEASE, thus fulfilling the recommendation.
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
18
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
Finally, the Government should ensure that any legislation passing through Parliament which has provisions to reduce the cost of, and simplify, the process of leasehold Shared Ownership 41 extension (for example, as in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill) also applies to leaseholders in shared ownership properties, so that shared …
Read more
Finally, the Government should ensure that any legislation passing through Parliament which has provisions to reduce the cost of, and simplify, the process of leasehold Shared Ownership 41 extension (for example, as in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill) also applies to leaseholders in shared ownership properties, so that shared owners have the same statutory right to leasehold extensions as all other leaseholders. (Paragraph 94) Risk of a two-tier market
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, confirming that shared owners will benefit from the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill's provisions, including a new statutory right to extend leases at a peppercorn ground rent, and other reforms to ensure they largely have the same rights as other …
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
21
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Shared Ownership
Accepted
Shared owners need a proper mechanism through which to feed back dissatisfaction with repairs, maintenance and other aspects of the management of their property. Based on the evidence we have received, many shared owners are clearly unaware of the option of escalating unresolved complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, suggesting that …
Read more
Shared owners need a proper mechanism through which to feed back dissatisfaction with repairs, maintenance and other aspects of the management of their property. Based on the evidence we have received, many shared owners are clearly unaware of the option of escalating unresolved complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, suggesting that better signposting is needed. The evidence also makes clear that, in many cases, providers’ internal complaints mechanisms are not fit for purpose, with shared owners often experiencing significant delays in waiting on responses from the landlord to their complaints.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the need for complaint mechanisms and states that a robust framework already exists, which has seen recent improvements including new tenant satisfaction measures and a consultation on access to information requirements.
Read full response →
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government