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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for rent convergence in the social housing sector.

For more than a decade, registered providers of social housing were able to increase the rent on Social Rent properties by an additional £2 per week if the rent was below the 'formula' level. This mechanism was phased out in 2015 and the Government has no plans to reinstate it, as this would be likely to result in additional costs to tenants and taxpayers

The Government recently consulted on social housing rents for the period 2020-25. The outcome of that consultation and the Government policy statement is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/rents-for-social-housing-from-2020-to-2021.