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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) potential merits of a national landlord register and (b) impact such a register has had on protecting the rights of private renters in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland; what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a similar database for England; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has committed to exploring the merits of introducing a national landlord register in England as part of a commitment to drive up standards in privately rented accommodation.

We are engaging with a range of stakeholders and potential users of a register such as private landlords, local authority enforcement officers, letting agents and private tenants to inform this work.

We are also engaging with officials in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will seek to learn from the different approaches applied. We will publish a White Paper that will set out our proposals for private rented sector reform.