Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing fixed-term assured tenancies.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will remove fixed-term assured tenancies. Fixed-term tenancies mean renters are obliged to pay rent regardless of whether a property is up-to-standard, and they reduce flexibility to move in response to changing circumstances. Instead all tenancies will be periodic, with tenants able to give two months’ notice at any point.
The Government submitted the Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill on 16 September 2024 to the Regulatory Policy Committee. The Government will publish the impact assessment in due course.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to eradicate rough sleeping in England; and what is their timescale for doing so.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Homelessness and rough sleeping levels in England are far too high. This has a devastating impact on those affected and harms our communities.
We must address this and deliver long-term solutions. The Government is considering these issues carefully and is committed to putting Britain back on track to ending homelessness. To do this we will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to standardise Energy Performance Certificate assessments.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are intended to provide prospective buyers and tenants with a guide to the energy costs of different properties, which is simple to understand and allows comparison between properties.
A standardised methodology is used in the assessments of EPCs. The current methodology can be found here. The software used to calculate EPC ratings in existing properties is the Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP).
Not all buildings are used in the same way, so the energy rating uses ‘standard occupancy’ assumptions which may be different from the way the building is used. We acknowledge that occupant behaviour is an important factor in determining the energy use of buildings. Encouraging occupants to use buildings more efficiently will be important in achieving the net zero target.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the passage of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, when they plan to deliver online calculators for lease extensions.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government will provide homeowners with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes. We are committed to implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The Government is also committed to further reform the leasehold system, enacting the remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to leasehold enfranchisement and the Right to Manage.
We will enforce measures to prescribe the rates to be used in enfranchisement valuation calculations, which determine the cost leaseholders must pay to extend a lease or acquire a freehold. This will allow leaseholders to understand how much it will cost to extend their lease or purchase their freehold upfront.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of ultra-short lets on the availability of long-term rentals and homes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We recognise that whilst short-term lets and second homes can benefit the tourist economy, we need to protect local communities, including ensuring the availability of housing to rent or buy. We are currently considering how best to achieve these aims.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any information on the number of leases that have been forfeited in the past year under section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Ministry of Justice publishes broader statistics on the numbers of mortgage lender and landlord possession actions in the county courts of England and Wales.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have conducted, if any, of the reasons behind rising numbers of landlords selling their properties.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
The most recent English Private Landlord Survey from 2021 found that almost half of landlords (48%) planned to keep the number of rental properties the same. The English Private Landlord Survey does not include prospective landlords who may be considering entering the market.
The most frequently reported reasons for planning to decrease or sell their properties are set out in detailed analysis (attached) in the English Private Landlord Survey report. The next publication is expected later in 2024.
The most recent English Housing Survey from 2022-23 found that the proportion of households in the private rented sector has doubled since the early 2000s and remained a similar proportion (19%) since 2013-14. For more detailed analysis, please see (attached) the full English Housing Survey report.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost of eradicating homelessness in England.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has made the unprecedented commitment to end rough sleeping and to fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act. In September 2022, we published our cross-government strategy ‘Ending Rough Sleeping for Good’, and we are investing almost £2.4 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping between 2022 and 2025.
We are also taking action to prevent people from becoming homeless or rough sleeping in the first place. We are investing over £1.2 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, including a £109 million top-up for 2024/25, giving councils the funding they need to prevent homelessness and help more people sooner.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the incentives required to encourage housing developers to join a voluntary energy-use monitoring scheme.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are committed to ensuring that good quality homes are built which meet the energy efficiency standards they were designed to. That is why, as part of the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation, we are consulting on introducing a post-occupancy fabric performance testing scheme for new homes.
We are proposing that developers opt-in to performance testing a proportion of their new homes. This would enable us to gather better data on how significantly new homes are underperforming.
We envisage that many developers will opt-in to the performance testing scheme and have been encouraged by work some developers are already doing to monitor and improve the actual performance of their homes.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce mandatory energy performance testing for new homes.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are committed to ensuring that good quality homes are built which meet the energy efficiency standards they were designed to. That is why, as part of the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation, we are consulting on introducing a post-occupancy fabric performance testing scheme for new homes.
We are proposing that developers opt-in to performance testing a proportion of their new homes. This would enable us to gather better data on how significantly new homes are underperforming.
We envisage that many developers will opt-in to the performance testing scheme and have been encouraged by work some developers are already doing to monitor and improve the actual performance of their homes.