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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their press release Support for renters continues with longer notice periods, published on 12 May, on what grounds they have concluded that many landlords are “highly vulnerable to rent arrears”.

The UK Government has put in place an unprecedented package of support for renters during the pandemic, including financial measures to enable them to continue paying rent to landlords.

However, we know that 45% of landlords have just one rental property and 38% have between two to four properties. For most landlords, income from rent makes up 42% of their total gross income making them highly vulnerable when their tenants build up rent arrears.

The Government has to balance supporting tenants with landlords' ability to exercise their right to justice where needed. As national restrictions continue to ease, it is appropriate that the emergency measures start to lift but we are doing so gradually.