Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring social housing providers to refer tenants to a local debt advice service before serving them with an eviction notice for rent arrears.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is clear that social landlords should seek to sustain tenancies and should only evict as a last resort.
Landlords will, when managing their social housing schemes, provide advice and assistance to those struggling financially, including signposting to support services.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords sets out the actions social landlords should take to support the tenant before they consider taking legal action for rent arrears. These actions include making early contact with tenants to discuss the cause of the arrears, checking eligibility for housing benefit, assisting with any claim, and agreeing affordable repayment terms for the arrears. The protocol can be found on the justice website here.