Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Retirement Home Exit Fees

Monday 15 June 2026 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Edward Morello questioned the Government on the trends in exit fees for retirement homes and the impact of unfair lease terms on families facing huge exit fees and service charges.
  • The Government responded that they are looking at resale values and recommendations from the older people's housing taskforce to address these issues.
  • Lewis Cocking requested the Minister to examine the entire conveyancing process in relation to retirement housing issues, to which the Minister agreed to discuss this further if the hon. Gentleman wished.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Edward Morello Lib Dem West Dorset
Social Care
Context

The question arises from concerns about the fairness and transparency of exit fees in retirement housing.

Question

What recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of exit fees for retirement homes. A constituent unable to wind up estate since 2023 faces £15,000 service charges plus exit fees that will wipe out value from sale. Steps taken by Government to tackle excessive service charges and ban exit fees?

Answer from Matthew Pennycook

Event fees should be fair, transparent and communicated effectively. We consulted on measures last year to strengthen leaseholder protections including event fees and will respond to the consultation soon. Resale values are influenced by various factors but recommendations from older people's housing taskforce commented on resale values and what might be done.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to specific steps or timeline for regulation of excessive service charges and exit fees ban

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Q2 Edward Morello Lib Dem West Dorset
Housing
Context

A constituent unable to wind up an estate since 2023 faces high service charges and exit fees, potentially wiping out sale value.

Question

Unfair terms on retirement village leases are leaving grieving families in Derby trapped with huge exit fees while extortionate service charges rack up. Will the Minister support those families by addressing unfair terms?

Answer from Matthew Pennycook

We are looking carefully at resale values and recommendations from older people's housing taskforce in this area. I invite both my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for West Dorset to send examples they have referenced, which would be incredibly useful evidence on how the issue affects homeowners and families.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to supporting families or addressing unfair lease terms directly

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Q3 Baggy Shanker Labour (Co-op) Derby South
Housing
Context

Grieving families are trapped by unfair lease terms and excessive exit fees, impacting resale value negatively.

Question

Unfair lease terms leave grieving families in Derby trapped with huge exit fees while service charges rack up on empty properties. Will the Minister support these families by addressing unfair terms when a loved one passes away?

Answer from Matthew Pennycook

We are considering resale values and recommendations from older people's housing taskforce in this area. I invite both my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for West Dorset to send examples they have referenced, which would be incredibly useful evidence on how the issue affects homeowners and families.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to supporting families or addressing unfair lease terms directly

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Q4 Lewis Cocking Con Broxbourne
Housing
Context

Complaints from older people in the constituency about lack of transparency from solicitors during conveyancing processes, leading to high fees at critical times.

Question

Will the Minister commit to going further than the report and look closely at the entire conveyancing process considering its impact on retirement housing issues?

Answer from Matthew Pennycook

We are carefully considering recommendations from older people's housing taskforce. Will sit down with the hon. Gentleman and discuss this issue if he would like to do so.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to examining conveyancing process beyond taskforce recommendations

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