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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason there is a requirement to remove flooring in social housing between tenancies; what the cost is of removing carpets and flooring, and disposing of it between tenancies; what environmental assessment has been carried out on this practice; what the results were of that assessment; and in what proportion of social housing has there been flea infestation.

There is no government requirement for social landlords to remove floor coverings between tenancies. Whether existing floor coverings are retained or removed between tenancies is an operational matter for individual landlords.

My Department does not hold data on the prevalence of flea infestation in social housing or on the cost of removing and disposing of carpets or other floor coverings between tenancies. As this is not a government requirement, my Department has undertaken no specific environmental assessment of the practice.