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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to provide support for renters who are in arrears as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Government support has ensured that the vast majority of tenants have maintained their rent payments. Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Resilience Study November-December 2020 suggests that around 9 per cent of households in the private rented sector are in rent arrears, and two thirds of those are in less than 2 months of arrears.

The UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support which is available to tenants. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit are supporting private renters to continue paying their rent. Local housing allowance rates have been maintained at their increased level in cash terms in 2021/22, meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector continue to benefit from the significant increase in the local housing allowance rates applied in April 2020 in cash terms. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. For 2021-22 the Government has made £140 million available in DHP funding, building on the £180 million provided last year.

We continue to closely monitor the ongoing impact of the pandemic on renters, working with the Department for Work and Pensions.