Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87776 on Private Rented Housing: Energy, whether new registration and licensing fees are a material consideration in assessing an open market rent increase.

Section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the factors that must be considered or disregarded by the Tribunal when determining the open market rent for a tenancy.

As set out in my response to Question UIN 87776 on 17 November 2025, the Tribunal must look at the rent the landlord could expect to receive for the property when making a rent determination, rather than costs borne by the landlord.

While it is for the Tribunal to decide in each case, the government considers that it is unlikely that registration and licensing fees would affect the open market rent, due to their limited impact on the rent that the landlord would expect to receive if they were to let the property on the open market.