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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that house prices and rental costs remain affordable.

Boosting the supply of homes across all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability. This is why the Government’s Plan for Change includes the ambitious milestone of delivering 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament.

We are also committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a cash injection of £500 million to the Affordable Homes Programme to deliver up to 5,000 additional affordable homes.

We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.

The Government has also committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme to support first-time buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit from tenants looking to secure a tenancy.

We are taking action on affordability in the private rented sector through the Renters’ Rights Bill which will empower tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, as well as end the practice of rental bidding and prohibit landlords from demanding more than one month’s rent in advance.