Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that homes owned by private landlords achieve an energy performance certificate rating of C or above.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government will not raise Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) to EPC Band C for privately rented homes, but continues to encourage homeowners to improve the energy performance of their homes where they can.
We are spending £6bn this Parliament on making buildings cleaner and warmer. That is in addition to the £5bn that will be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026. We have also announced a further £6bn worth of support up to 2028 to help around a million families cut their energy use.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much income the Defence Infrastructure Organisation has generated by renting out Service Family Accommodation properties to non-service personnel each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The amount the Department has received for renting out Service Family Accommodation (SFA) to non-Service personnel each year since financial year (FY) 2016-17 is shown in the table below:
FY | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Sublet Income (£million) | 1.1 | 2.1 | 5.5 | 9.1 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 14.8 |
No information is held prior to FY 2016-17 as the Department only started subletting surplus SFA in 2016.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) restrictions and (b) guidance are in place for landlords renting out properties to immediate family members and receiving (i) housing benefit and (ii) universal credit for that property.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To be eligible for support with housing costs in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, claimants must be liable for making payment of rent on a commercial basis. A claimant can receive support with housing costs if that test is satisfied and liability is to a close relative, but only where that relative does not live in the same property as the claimant.
Guidance setting this out is available on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) units have been rented privately in each year since 2019; what the (a) average, (b) longest and (c) shortest timeframe for renters having been given notice to quit has been since 2019; and how many of his Department's sites on which SFA is located have had 10 or more notices to quit served in the same calendar month since 2019.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The number and percentage of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties that have been rented privately in each year since 2019 is shown in the table below:
Dates | Total Stock | Privately LET | Percentage Privately LET |
Apr-2019 | 49,437 | 941 | 1.90% |
Apr-2020 | 49,143 | 1,313 | 2.67% |
Apr-2021 | 48,518 | 1,514 | 3.12% |
Apr-2022 | 47,391 | 1,405 | 2.96% |
Apr-2023 | 47,286 | 1,401 | 2.96% |
Apr-2024 | 47,094 | 1,296 | 2.75% |
Sites where ten or more Notices to Quit (NTQ) have been served at the same time are:
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In line with standard procedure, occupants who have been served a NTQ are provided with 65 days’ notice as specified within the tenancy agreement. However, individual specific circumstances will be taken into account where there are extenuating circumstances, as is the case at RAF Henlow, where one year’s notice has been given.
The average timeframe for a NTQ could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Section 21 notices have been issued in (a) Lancashire and (b) Preston in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to support tenants facing eviction under a Section 21 notice.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL2677 on 6 March 2024. We are abolishing Section 21 evictions as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to monitor the interventions made by social housing providers to tackle damp and mould in residential properties.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing setting out his expectations that they tackle dangerous damp and mould in their properties. We have now introduced ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will set new requirements for social landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould.
We have given local authorities strong enforcement powers that they must use if they identify dangerous damp and mould in privately rented homes and, through the Renters (Reform) Bill, are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. Guidance for local authorities on how to ensure accommodation for homeless applicants is suitable can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities/chapter-17-suitability-of-accommodation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance he provides to local authorities on the provision of suitable accommodation when private landlords fail to tackle damp and mould in residential properties.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing setting out his expectations that they tackle dangerous damp and mould in their properties. We have now introduced ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will set new requirements for social landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould.
We have given local authorities strong enforcement powers that they must use if they identify dangerous damp and mould in privately rented homes and, through the Renters (Reform) Bill, are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. Guidance for local authorities on how to ensure accommodation for homeless applicants is suitable can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities/chapter-17-suitability-of-accommodation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help ensure people who have to leave a property due to mould and damp are rehoused.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing setting out his expectations that they tackle dangerous damp and mould in their properties. We have now introduced ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will set new requirements for social landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould.
We have given local authorities strong enforcement powers that they must use if they identify dangerous damp and mould in privately rented homes and, through the Renters (Reform) Bill, are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. Guidance for local authorities on how to ensure accommodation for homeless applicants is suitable can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities/chapter-17-suitability-of-accommodation.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made recent progress on introducing a lifetime deposit for renters.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As set out in our 2022 White Paper ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’, the market has responded to the ambition of our manifesto commitment for a ‘lifetime deposit’.
We continue to monitor the development of commercial lifetime deposit solutions, alongside keeping deposit protection and the broader deposit market under review.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Service Family Accommodation properties were rented out to non-service personnel by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties rented out to non-service personnel by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as of the 1 April in each year since 2016 is shown in the table below:
Year | April 2016 | April 2017 | April 2018 | April 2019 | April 2020 | April 2021 | April 2022 | April 2023 | April 2024 |
Total of SFA Sublets | 157 | 282 | 660 | 1272 | 1724 | 1998 | 1931 | 1930 | 2402 |
No information is held prior to Financial Year 2016/17 as the Department only began to sub-let surplus SFA in 2016.