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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of private renters with significant rent arrears since restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced; what assessment they have made of the figure of 800,000 with rent arrears in England and Wales suggested by the National Residential Landlords Association; and what steps they plan to take to prevent large-scale evictions once the protections put in place during the pandemic are lifted in England.

The vast majority of tenants are meeting their rental commitments. Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Resilience Study June-July 2020 suggests that around 7% of private rented sector households are in rent arrears compared to around 3% pre-COVID. 5% of private renters had spoken to their landlords and agreed a rent holiday and a further 6% had spoken to their landlords and agreed a rent reduction.

The NRLA also reported that 7% of renters have built up arrears, and that 91% of private renters have not built any arrears since March 2020.

The UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support which is available to tenants. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the wider package of economic support measures are supporting private renters to continue paying their rent. Local housing allowance (LHA) rates will be maintained at their increased level in cash terms in 2021/22, meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector will continue to benefit from the significant increase in the LHA rates applied in April 2020 in cash terms. Even in areas where rents have reduced and so the 30th percentile level has gone down, LHA rates will remain unchanged.  For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. For 2021-22 the Government will make available £140 million in DHP funding, which takes account of the increased LHA rates.