Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
We supported the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 because it, for the first time, empowers tenants in both the Private and Social Rented Sectors to hold their landlord to account if they fail to keep the property fit for human habitation. We have not yet made an assessment of the Act, which came into force for all tenancies in March 2020. The Act forms a vital part of the work we are doing to improve standards in the Private Rented Sector, including our review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and the strengthening of local authorities’ enforcement powers.