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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department takes to (a) monitor and (b) regulate the standard of housing in the private rental sector; and if he will place in the Library the criteria used as part of that monitoring process.

(a) Standards of housing in the private rented sector are monitored through the English Housing Survey, which my Department publishes and which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-survey. The survey reports that in 2008 44 per cent of privately rented homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, but that this had improved to 25 per cent by 2018.

(b) Local authorities have strong powers to tackle poor standards in the private rented sector. These powers were strengthened by the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which introduced financial penalties of up to £30,000, extended Rent Repayment Orders and introduced Banning Orders for the most serious and prolific offenders.

In addition, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 has empowered tenants, for the first time, to?take action?in the courts for breach of contract on the grounds that the property is unfit for human habitation.?The remedies available to the tenant are an order by the court requiring the landlord to take action to reduce or remove the hazard and damages to compensate them for having to live in a property which was not fit for human habitation.