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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that HMOs and exempt accommodation are distributed evenly at both the local and national level to help support community cohesion.

This government implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which will introduce licensing and national support standards across England to ensure supported housing residents receive support tailored to their individual needs. I will publish a consultation on the draft licensing regulations later this year.

Alongside this, the department has issued guidance and provided new burdens funding to support local authorities in developing supported housing strategies, which will assess the supply and demand for different types of supported housing in their areas.

While these reforms are being implemented, my officials continue to work closely with Birmingham City Council to address concerns about supported exempt accommodation.

Local authorities already have a range of powers to tackle poor-quality accommodation. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play an important role in ensuring properties are safe, well maintained and properly managed, and councils have robust enforcement powers where landlords fail to comply.

Local planning authorities also have a wide range of enforcement powers, backed by strong penalties for non-compliance with planning regulations. However, it is for individual authorities to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate in the circumstances of each case.