Over seven years after the tragic events of Grenfell, with the lessons we should have learned, we still have household after household trapped with unsafe cladding, massive service charges and rip-off fees - writes Sadik Al-Hassan MP.

Many North Somerset constituents are affected by wide-ranging issues associated with owning a leasehold property.

Leaseholders often experience escalating ground rents, increased and opaque service charges, building safety and maintenance issues and generally poor conduct from Managing Agents.

Add to this the scandalous delays of the last government in tackling unsafe cladding despite being seven years down the road.

I have met with constituents and received messages to share with me their accounts of how these terrible issues have affected their lives in terms of both their mental health and financially.

I have personal experience of owning a leasehold property, and therefore I totally understand what those affected are going through.

Last week I joined several other Labour MPs in writing to one of the biggest Managing Agents involved within the constituency, FirstPort Management Services, raising various issues, particularly regarding significantly increased charges with little or no explanation.

I am due to meet with senior management from FirstPort in December to raise constituent issues with them directly.

The Government has been clear that it intends to act quickly to implement the measures within the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which will give homeowners greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes.

Ministers have said that the Government will set out the steps it will take to achieve this in due course.

I am pleased that the Government has committed to further reforming the leasehold system over the course of this Parliament.

For example, it has said it will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage.

It has said it will tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework.

In addition, it has said that it intends to ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government is committed to bringing the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end, including by bringing forward its Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.

It has said it will create a new regulatory framework to make estate management companies more accountable to homeowners for how their money is spent.

In addition, I welcome the fact that the Government has said it will ensure that those living in the leasehold sector are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.

Furthermore, it has said it will take steps to remove the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of ensuring compliance with a lease agreement.

It was great to meet with the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, who last week announced that it will take longer than expected to fully implement the new leasehold legislation.

As your local MP, I will be working to press for faster and effective implementation of the reforms as I know that getting this over the line quickly is important.

If you have been affected by leasehold issues and wish to share your experiences, or if you need my support with an individual case, please email me at: sadik.al-hassan.mp@parliament.uk.