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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to impose a legal cap on service charges for social housing.

The Government does not regulate levels of service charges in social housing. Our policy statement on social housing rents states that Registered Providers of social housing are expected to set reasonable and transparent service charges for tenants that reflect the service being provided. Levels of service charge may vary for each property based on a range of factors, including the cost of repairs, maintenance and management of the building.

The Government’s policy statement on rents also states that Registered Providers of social housing should endeavour to keep any service charge increases for tenants within the limit on annual permitted rent increases (7.7% in 2024-25).