§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of whether the establishment of letting value under part I of the Housing and Urban Development Bill 1993 will be prevented by the absence of or withholding of estate records; and what forms of indirect alternative evidence of letting value including pre-1963 rating records there are, from which such letting values could appropriately be derived.
§ Mr. BaldryWe have no evidence from landlords, tenants, or professional bodies that the derivation of letting values in relation to the rent test in section 4 of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 has caused difficulties. We do not anticipate any difficulties with establishing letting values for the purposes of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Bill. Most professional valuers have the knowledge and experience to do it.
Estate records are not essential to the assessment of letting values, although they might provide evidence to show that a particular lease is not at a low rent.
Indirect alternative evidence includes pre-1963 rating records, calculations deduced from capital values and the experience of solicitors and valuers in practice at the relevant time. In many cases, in particular for very old leases, the rent will often be so low as to create no doubt that it is a low rent as defined.