Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential (a) merits of removing students from council tax and (b) impact of removing students from council tax on routine (i) services and (ii) maintenance.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Full-time students are generally disregarded for council tax purposes. Where all residents of a dwelling are disregarded, due to being full-time students, the dwelling will be exempt from council tax. Additionally, where a hall of residence is provided predominantly for the accommodation of students it will also be exempt for council tax purposes.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 impact of the Renter's Rights Bill on tackling unaffordable requests for rent in advance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognise that requests for large amounts of rent in advance can put financial strain on tenants and can exclude certain groups from renting all together. We want to ensure that the Renters’ Rights Bill protects renters against such demands, and we will keep the matter under review as the Bill progresses.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take legislative steps to ensure that pensioners are not impacted by annual retirement property price increases.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Leaseholders living in retirement housing who pay variable service charges will benefit from measures contained in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 that will ensure all leaseholders receive minimum key financial and non-financial information on a regular basis, including introducing a standardised service charge demand form and an annual report, so that leaseholders can scrutinise and better challenge costs if they are considered unreasonable. The Government are committed to acting quickly to implement the provisions of the Act.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to financially protect leaseholding pensioners in independent retirement living facilities from (a) maintenance and (b) ground rents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government will act quickly to provide leasehold homeowners, including where relevant those living in retirement housing, with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We will also take action to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges.