House of Commons · Westminster Hall
24 June 2025 · 5 other contributors · 4,886 words
Opened by Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
Responding minister: Alex Norris
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Alistair Strathern raised concerns about unadopted estates and roads in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
The lead MP calls for clearer guidelines on timescales and standards for the adoption of roads by local authorities, ensuring residents have certainty about what they are paying for and to whom.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
The issue of unadopted estates and roads affects many families across the UK, with up to 80% of new homes going unadopted. Residents are facing issues such as lack of transparency from management companies, soaring bills, and difficulties in accessing services like kerbside bin collection due to unadopted roads.
The hon. Member gave an example of Groomsport in his constituency where the road The Point is owned by residents but has been like a dirt track for decades due to inability to get adoption from the Department for Infrastructure, highlighting the need for special dispensation for people caught in such traps.
He supports his constituent's request for an agreement with developers on when roads will be adopted and calls for a reasonable expectation of timely adoption, which should not require intervention by MPs.
He discusses growing frustration in Ebbsfleet Garden City where residents are paying council tax to management companies alongside service charges without clarity on high fees. He agrees that clearer guidelines on adoption standards are needed. Supports the need for certainty and fairness in addressing unadopted estates to protect residents' rights.
He highlights a case in Northern Ireland where local councils do not collect bins from unadopted estates, forcing residents to bring their bins to the entrance of the estate. He agrees that more must be done to support elderly or disabled residents.
In her constituency, there is a large number of new builds with issues related to freehold management companies. She calls for an end to the fleecehold stealth tax and agrees that more must be done to support residents.
Government Response
Alex NorrisThe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Acknowledges the issue's impact on both supply and local authority budgets, supports the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations to strengthen protection for existing homeowners and mandate adoption of all new estates. Emphasises the need for certainty and fairness in addressing unadopted estates. We need to act as quickly as feasible to implement the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, but they require detailed secondary legislation. We will publish a consultation document later this year and seek views from local authorities, management companies, developers, freeholders and residents. The Government are committed to strengthening the regulation of managing agents by introducing mandatory professional qualifications for managing agents.