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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of requirements for social housing providers of houses in multiple occupation to address (a) mould and (b) damp in those properties.

The definition of a house in multiple occupation (HMO), and which buildings are not HMOs, is set out in the Housing Act 2004. According to schedule 14 of this Act, a building managed or controlled by a local housing authority, a non-profit registered provider of social housing or a body registered as a social landlord (under part 1 of the Housing Act 1996) is not an HMO. As such, it is not possible to have an HMO in the social housing sector.