Rented Housing: Coronavirus

(asked on 27th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the (a) credit rating of renters and (b) rental market.


Answered by
Christopher Pincher Portrait
Christopher Pincher
This question was answered on 2nd December 2020

The Government has established an unprecedented package of support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic which is supporting the rental market by enabling renters to sustain tenancies and continue paying rent.

Our comprehensive support package includes a range of support for businesses to pay staff salaries, including through the furlough scheme which has now been extended to March 2021. We have also strengthened the welfare safety-net with billions of additional pounds, including increasing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they cover the lowest 30 per cent of market rents.

For those renters who require additional support, there is an existing £180 million of Government funding for Discretionary Housing Payments made available this year, an increase of £40 million from last year and which is for councils to distribute to support renters with housing costs.

Our approach continues to be informed by a range of data sources and the Government continues to keep this matter under review.

Reticulating Splines