Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Rent Repayment Orders on housing conditions in the private rented sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No such estimate can currently be made. My Department is in the process of implementing a new mandatory collection of private rented sector enforcement data from local housing authorities, which will include the number of Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) applied for by the council, the value of Universal Credit/Housing Benefit recovered following a rent repayment order, and the number of tenants supported in making an application.
My Department has made no specific assessment of the potential impact of Rent Repayment Orders on housing conditions in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what action is being taken to simplify Universal Credit housing cost processes for vulnerable claimants and reduce waiting times.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Processes for declaring and verifying Universal Credit housing cost are designed to be simple and ensure timely and accurate payments. For Private Rented Sector (PRS) claimants, we ask for evidence of housing cost liability via secure upload, with alternatives for those claimants who can’t, or choose not to, verify in this way.
For the vast majority of Social Rented Sector (SRS) cases (around 95%), we verify housing costs through the landlord portal, which provides a direct response within a few days. For the small proportion of SRS cases not covered by the portal, verification is completed via email, which can take a little longer.
We are not aware of any significant problems with these processes at present. Payment timeliness has remained stable since the introduction of the landlord portal in 2017–19. We continuously evaluate the service and, where concerns are identified, we look to change or improve the way we deliver the service. This approach is intended to keep processes as simple and efficient as possible for all claimants, including those who are vulnerable.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out the selection criteria for the local authorities added to the Rent Repayment Order data sharing scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to develop and implement the Rent Repayment Order pilot. The opportunity to participate was offered to all local authorities through Operation Jigsaw, an organisation currently funded by MHCLG, which brings together 309 local housing authorities in England to support the sharing of expertise, best practices, and vital intelligence both regionally and nationally to raise housing standards in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria were used to select the 38 additional local authorities included in the expansion of the Rent Repayment Order data-sharing scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to develop and implement the Rent Repayment Order pilot. The opportunity to participate was offered to all local authorities through Operation Jigsaw, an organisation currently funded by MHCLG, which brings together 309 local housing authorities in England to support the sharing of expertise, best practices, and vital intelligence both regionally and nationally to raise housing standards in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of procuring residential accommodation for asylum seekers in Northern Ireland on (a) the availability of and (b) waiting times for social housing.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Accommodation for people seeking asylum in Northern Ireland is procured by Home Office Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract providers from the private rented sector and does not draw on social housing stock. Northern Ireland is not part of the Full Dispersal arrangements, so only those who claim asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there. On that basis, the Department does not assess a direct impact on either the availability of, or waiting times for, social housing.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to procure 1 million extra rental properties that are estimated by the National Residential Landlords Association to be required by 2031.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In our Plan for Change, we have set an ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million new homes across all tenures in England in this Parliament. At the Spending Review, we announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. For further information, I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 2 July (HLWS770).
The government is committed to supporting the Build to Rent sector. We are unlocking nearly £2 billion in additional lending through the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme and have announced a £700 million extension to the Home Building Fund to help deliver more homes alongside institutional investors, including those provided by Build to Rent operators.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether local authority selective licensing for residential properties will duplicate the private rented sector database in the Renters' Rights Act 2025; and what assessment they have made of the impact of each of those schemes on costs for landlords and tenants.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Selective licensing and the Private Rented Sector Database have different purposes. Unlike the Database, selective licensing schemes aim to target specific local issues by enabling more intensive proactive enforcement strategies.
We recognise the need to keep requirements for landlords proportionate and fair. While Database registration brings some additional requirements, we are committed to ensuring these remain reasonable.
We will continue to review the use of selective licensing as we develop the Private Rented Sector Database – refining the way the two systems work together.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the tax rises for landlords in the Budget 2025 on (1) the supply of property in the private rented sector, and (2) rent levels.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility does not expect that the reform to property income tax will have a significant impact on rental prices.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to requirements for EPC certificates on properties used as short term holiday lets.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The recent consultation on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector sought views on whether short-term lets should be included in the scope of our proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030, to help ensure a consistent standard across all private rented properties.
No final decisions have been made, and the government has proposed to maintain a range of exemptions available to landlords to ensure that required investment is fair and proportionate. Government remains committed to taking an evidence-based approach and will consider the balance between supporting tourism and reaching our net zero goals.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the findings of the consultation on Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The consultation on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector closed on 2nd May and a government response will be published in due course.