Written question asked by Andrew Gwynne (Labour) on Thursday, 18 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 May 2006. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Monday, 12 June 2006 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Chief Rents

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications have been made to the Government Office for the North West for the redemption of chief rents on freehold domestic properties for each of the past five years; and how many such applications were successful.

Answer: In the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2005 the unit received a total of 2,575 applications for redemption. Of these, 29 are still under consideration; 738 were redeemed and 1,808 were not redeemed.Applicants may withdraw their application at any time in which case the rentcharge is not redeemed. Of the 1,808 applications which were not redeemed, 525 were considered to be Estate Rentcharges which are incapable of redemption under the terms of the Rentcharges Act 1977.In conjunction with the Department, the Rentcharge Unit reviewed and revised its own guidelines for determining estate rentcharges in October 2005 resulting in more applications being redeemed.

Secondary information