MINISTERS have faced cross-party calls to enact reforms to the leasehold system of home ownership.

Residents in Chapelford are among those who have raised concerns over the issues they have been facing due to the leasehold system.

Senior Conservatives pressed the Government to fix the problems of leasehold as Labour urged Cabinet minister Michael Gove to keep his promise on leasehold reform during an Opposition Day Commons debate.

Father of the House and Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, Worthing West, asked: “The key issue is how soon life can be made better for those who deserve a better life in the homes of their own, and how soon those who are screwing them get unscrewed?”

Conservative Warrington South MP Andy Carter said: “I have to say I am a little sad that it is an opposition day debate that we are speaking in rather than the second reading of a Bill that would resolve many of the issues.”

While Conservative former minister Wendy Morton welcomed progress made by the Government on leasehold reform, she said there is a need to “speed this up” to help “remove uncertainty”.

She said: “My request in today’s debate is simple really and that is to ask the minister to confirm – and I believe our Government is but I would like to hear it from the despatch box today – that we remain committed to making these leasehold reform changes that I believe constituents such as mine in Aldridge-Brownhills, and I’m sure right across the country, so badly need and deserve.

“Can we get a move on with it and see some progress this year?”

Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy branded the situation “a bit of a mess”.

The Labour frontbencher asked: “Will the minister give us a cast-iron guarantee that the Bill they have promised will bring to an end the sale of new private leasehold houses at the point the Bill comes into force, ensure those provisions are applied retrospectively to December 2017 – a promise that has been made repeatedly by this Government – and bring in a workable system to replace private leasehold flats with commonhold?”

Labour chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee Clive Betts asked: “Why is it taking so long?

“Yes, it is a complicated issue in part to legislate on this, but in the meantime it’s extremely complicated for leaseholders themselves facing all the obstacles, particularly to buying the freehold of their property, it’s not merely complicated, it’s expensive as well.

“Leasehold on new houses, it’s very simple: simply ban it. That’s not a complicated piece of legislation. The Government committed to do it in response to the select committee report, why are we waiting for that four years later?”

He went on: “Why haven’t we got simple legislation as well about service charges and onerous permission rights, and other conditions? Why has the Government simply failed to do any of these things in the last four years?”

Communities minster Lee Rowley told MPs the Government “are committing to reform”, adding “it will happen in the remainder of this Parliament”.

He said: “We have committed to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their lease or to buy their freehold.

“We will bring forward legislation to ban new residential long leases on houses and I am pleased to see that whilst there are still issues, the market has already responded, with only 1.4% of houses in England now being built as leasehold compared to nearly 15% previously.”

Intervening, Conservative Sir Julian Lewis, New Forest East, asked: “Do I detect a basic shift away from this position? I earnestly hope not.”

Mr Rowley replied: “I would not read anything into my comments other than we are committing to reform, we said we would bring it forward, we will bring it forward, and it will happen in the remainder of this Parliament. Part of that reform will also be reforming unreasonable and excessive service charges.”

Mr Rowley insisted the Government “is on the side of leaseholders”.

Housing minister Rachel Maclean later denied the Government has U-turned on its plans to further reform leasehold but declined to give details on forthcoming legislation.

She said: “I want to be very clear that there has been no U-turn as some people have tried to characterise here. This is about timing.”

Labour forced a vote on their non-binding motion which called on Communities Secretary Mr Gove to keep his promise to deliver reforms and outline his plans to the Commons by June 23.

It was approved by 174 votes to zero, majority 174.