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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requests for payment of several months rent in advance before securing a tenancy on the ability of people to find housing in the private rented sector.

We are currently monitoring the practice of landlords charging rent in advance to understand the impacts on tenants and will take action if necessary.

The Government is committed to redressing the balance between landlord and tenant. The Renters’ Rights Bill will provide tenants with greater protections against unreasonable within-tenancy rent increases and put an end to rental bidding wars which unfairly pits tenants against each other.