§ Lord Ross of Newportasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they recognise the situation, under the Housing Act 1988, whereby the landlord of shop premises, under certain leases, is able to charge a market rent for the residential part of a building regardless of the rent received by the commercial leaseholder, and whether they propose to take any action to remedy this.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Baroness Match):I am unaware of any defect in the law. Where residential premises are occupied by tenants who have security of tenure and pay a regulated rent, that determines the income from the residential property. Terms which result in the 69WA commercial leaseholder paying a higher rent would only arise following free market negotiations in which he would have been involved.