Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to review the £250 threshold for triggering a consultation procedure under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is designed to ensure leaseholders are better informed about proposals and costs of upkeep and maintenance of the building, and that they have more time to ensure they can make suitable finance arrangements. We will continue to keep the threshold for consultation under review.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government plans to introduce to ensure that small charities are not treated less favourably than other small businesses in relation to their liability for non-domestic rates.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Where a property is occupied by a charity and used for charitable purposes they will usually receive a mandatory 80 per cent relief from rates, which can be increased to 100 per cent at the discretion of the local billing authority. Unlike small businesses, charities qualify for this relief irrespective of their occupation of other properties or the rateable value of the property.
The Government fully recognises the important public benefit that charities bring to communities, and charities also enjoy a range of additional tax benefits on their operations that businesses do not.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to introduce regulatory proposals for bodies which manage shared accommodation in which vulnerable people are housed.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government understands the importance of protecting the most vulnerable in our society.
Housing is regulated differently dependent on the form of support provided. Social housing provided by Housing Associations is regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency, registered Care Homes are inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Houses of Multiple Occupancy in the private rental sector are, where appropriate, licensed by the local authority, and we are proposing changes to widen mandatory licensing of large Houses of Multiple Occupancies.
As part of our consultation on the future funding of supported housing, the Government is considering how further to improve oversight and assurance for vulnerable adults living in supported housing. As part of the Care and Quality Commission’s next phase of regulation consultation, the Care and Quality Commission is looking to make changes to its regulation of providers to use a more targeted, responsive and collaborative approach to meet the emerging new care models.