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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Age UK's publication entitled Home Truths, published January 2020, what plans he has to support older people in the private rented sector in the upcoming renters' reform Bill.

As announced in the Queen’s Speech, the Government plans to introduce a package of reforms to deliver a better deal for renters and a fairer and more effective rental market. The Renters’ Reform Bill will enhance renters’ security and improve protections for short-term tenants by abolishing ‘no-fault’ evictions. This will include repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and represents a generational change in the law that governs private renting.

Our recent consultation, ‘A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants’ sought views from across the private and social rented sectors on how the new system should operate, in order to ensure that we get the details right?and?create?a new framework which works for everyone. We welcome the consultation response submitted by Age UK, which highlights the experience of a range of tenants who rent their homes in the private rented sector, including older people. Almost 20,000 responses to the consultation were received and these are being carefully considered to help inform the Renters’ Reform Bill.