Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in England over the age of 18 live in leasehold properties.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department does not hold this data.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forms of redress are available for those with complaints against letting agencies where they are not members of recognised industry standards associations.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As part of a fair and just housing system, the Government is committed to making sure that landlords and tenants are protected from abuse and poor service. This is why we introduced in October 2014 a legal requirement for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government-approved redress schemes. Agents who fail to comply can be fined up to £5,000. The two schemes are: The Property Ombudsman (https://www.tpos.co.uk/) and the Property Redress Scheme (https://www.theprs.co.uk/).
Whether or not letting agencies choose to also be members of an industry standards association, landlords and agents have access to redress via the redress schemes.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce regulations covering the operation of letting and property management companies in order to rectify bad practices.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As part of a fair and just housing system, the Government is committed to making sure that homeowners and tenants are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents (letting, estate and managing agents), protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector, including on codes of practice for property agents. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.
When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that freehold homeowners who pay estate rentcharges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a manager to manage the provision of services.
Mandating professional qualifications was one of the areas the Government asked Lord Best's independent working group on regulation of property agents to look at as part of its review. We are considering the recommendations on qualifications and training for property agents alongside the others in the working group's report.
There are several qualification providers operating in the property agent marketplace, including those not affiliated with any trade association or professional body. It is also a legal requirement for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government approved redress schemes.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what existing (1) qualifications, and (2) training, are required to establish a letting or property management company.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As part of a fair and just housing system, the Government is committed to making sure that homeowners and tenants are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents (letting, estate and managing agents), protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector, including on codes of practice for property agents. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.
When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that freehold homeowners who pay estate rentcharges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a manager to manage the provision of services.
Mandating professional qualifications was one of the areas the Government asked Lord Best's independent working group on regulation of property agents to look at as part of its review. We are considering the recommendations on qualifications and training for property agents alongside the others in the working group's report.
There are several qualification providers operating in the property agent marketplace, including those not affiliated with any trade association or professional body. It is also a legal requirement for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government approved redress schemes.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to avert any impending shortage of private rental accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
According to the English Housing Survey, the proportion of Private Rented Sector (PRS) households has remained relatively stable for nearly a decade. The PRS was 19% of households in 2013-14 and continues to be at 19% according to the latest data for 2022. We also recognise, however, that there is pressure on the PRS.
Generally, the Government is firmly committed to driving up the supply of new homes and working towards its ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of Energy Performance Certificates.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Government continues to keep the effectiveness of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) under review.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for increasing the use of periodic tenancies in the UK; and whether they have examined the use of periodic tenancies in other countries in making any such assessment.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department has carefully considered the decision to move to periodic tenancies, as part of the forthcoming reforms to renting in England, and has consulted and engaged with stakeholders from the private and social rented sectors on tenancy reform changes over several years. This engagement will continue.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of replacing assured shorthold tenancies with periodic tenancies; and what assessment they have made of the benefits of doing that.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department has carefully considered the decision to move to periodic tenancies, as part of the forthcoming reforms to renting in England, and has consulted and engaged with stakeholders from the private and social rented sectors on tenancy reform changes over several years. This engagement will continue.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review the impact of tax changes on (1) the private rental market, and (2) the supply of homes to rent.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Since 2010, there have been a range of policy changes affecting private landlords. These include tax changes for buy-to-let landlords, changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax, and the growing role of the build-to-rent sector.
The English Housing Survey provides information on households and housing stock. The proportion of Private Rented Sector (PRS) households has remained relatively stable for nearly a decade. The PRS was 19% of households in 2013-14 and continues to be at 19% according to the latest data for 2021-22, collected during the pandemic.
The department also continues to monitor key sources of market data as an indicator of supply and demand. Rightmove's Rental Trends Tracker reported that in Q3 of 2022, tenant demand had increased by 20% while available properties to rent had decreased by 9% compared to Q3 of 2021. The department will continue to follow these statistics closely including to examine the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will undertake a formal assessment of the extent of supply problems in the private rented sector.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Since 2010, there have been a range of policy changes affecting private landlords. These include tax changes for buy-to-let landlords, changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax, and the growing role of the build-to-rent sector.
The English Housing Survey provides information on households and housing stock. The proportion of Private Rented Sector (PRS) households has remained relatively stable for nearly a decade. The PRS was 19% of households in 2013-14 and continues to be at 19% according to the latest data for 2021-22, collected during the pandemic.
The department also continues to monitor key sources of market data as an indicator of supply and demand. Rightmove's Rental Trends Tracker reported that in Q3 of 2022, tenant demand had increased by 20% while available properties to rent had decreased by 9% compared to Q3 of 2021. The department will continue to follow these statistics closely including to examine the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.