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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 14 September following the statement on Local Housing Need, what is the basis of their classification of affordable rents as 80 per cent of market rents.

Affordable Rent must be set at or below 80 per cent of market rents, so tenants will still benefit from sub-market rent. Actual levels of rents vary, and landlords must consider the local market conditions to ensure a fit with local circumstances when setting rents.

Government introduced Affordable Rent in 2012 to maximise government investment in affordable housing, enabling the development of more homes for every pound of public spending. This has allowed us to build nearly 333,000 new affordable homes since 2010, including 240,000 affordable homes for rent.