Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the proportion of private rental properties that do not meet the decent homes standard; and what plans he has to help improve housing quality.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The most recent data on properties in the private rented sector (PRS) that failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) are published at: English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023: headline report (data on dwelling condition is in Chapter 4).
Through the Renters (Reform) Bill, we are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS for the first time.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the effectiveness of court processes for the repossession of rental properties before the commencement of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
With regards to specialist housing courts and the impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on levels of demand on the courts, I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 203400 on 26 October 2023 and Question UIN 10066 on 25 January 2024.
The Government monitors possession claim actions in the county courts using the Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice. We will set out further details shortly about how we will assess the operation of the courts in the context of the changes to possession processes which we are introducing through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the impact of increased rental costs on tenants in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
Although housing is a devolved matter the UK Government is supporting renters in Wales by increasing the Local Housing Allowance (LHA). From April 2024, the UK Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to cover the lowest 30% of local market rents. Around 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit will gain nearly £800 per year on average in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. In Wales, around 82,500 households are set to benefit from the boost.
This significant investment, taken together with the wider benefits uprating, will improve housing affordability for low-income households on benefits renting in the private sector, helping them afford their rent and reducing the risk of rent arrears and homelessness.
More broadly, the UK Government and Welsh Government are working closely to apply the prohibition against Blanket Ban practices in Wales. Through the Renters (Reform) Bill we will achieve our shared objective to make sure families with children and people who receive benefits can access homes in the private rented sector.
Moreover, the National Living wage will increase by 9.8% to £11.44 per hour for workers over 21 and the National Minimum wage will increase by 14.8% to £8.60 per hour for people aged 18-20. This will benefit 140,000 people in Wales and is further evidence of the support the UK Government is providing to support people with the cost of living.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the impact of increased rental costs on renters in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
Although housing is a devolved matter the UK Government is supporting renters in Wales by increasing the Local Housing Allowance (LHA). From April 2024, the UK Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to cover the lowest 30% of local market rents. Around 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit will gain nearly £800 per year on average in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. In Wales, around 82,500 households are set to benefit from the boost.
This significant investment, taken together with the wider benefits uprating, will improve housing affordability for low-income households on benefits renting in the private sector, helping them afford their rent and reducing the risk of rent arrears and homelessness.
More broadly, the UK Government and Welsh Government are working closely to apply the prohibition against Blanket Ban practices in Wales. Through the Renters (Reform) Bill we will achieve our shared objective to make sure families with children and people who receive benefits can access homes in the private rented sector.
Moreover, the National Living wage will increase by 9.8% to £11.44 per hour for workers over 21 and the National Minimum wage will increase by 14.8% to £8.60 per hour for people aged 18-20. This will benefit 140,000 people in Wales and is further evidence of the support the UK Government is providing to support people with the cost of living.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of measures to help people without a guarantor access private rental tenancies.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver the Government’s commitment to a fairer private rented sector – improving the system for responsible tenants and good faith landlords.
The Government strongly encourages landlords and letting agents to assess the suitability of potential tenants on an individual basis. To ensure a sustainable tenancy for both parties, landlords and letting agents may require a guarantor for a tenancy.
The Department recognises that providing a guarantor can be difficult for some. We would encourage prospective tenants to discuss their individual circumstances with the letting agent or landlord about alternative forms of reference that might be acceptable. Local authorities may offer rent deposit, bond and guarantee schemes to help people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.
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, if he will take steps to ensure women at risk of exploitation are placed in (a) local authority and (b) housing association accommodation rather than the private rental sector.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation for households owed the main homelessness duty until suitable long-term accommodation can be offered to them. The accommodation must be suitable in relation to the applicant and to all members of their household.
Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review.
Everyone should be able to feel safe in their home and sexual exploitation of tenants has no place in our society. It is important that local authorities and the police work to tackle this issue and take action against criminal landlords.
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which has been developed in consultation with the Home Office and local authorities, includes provisions which will help to drive out criminal behaviour. These include increased investigatory and enforcement powers to help local authorities crack down on criminal landlords, and amending the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 to provide local authorities with new powers to issue fines, as an alternative to prosecution, to those who illegally evict or harass tenants.
Housing First is a model in which rough sleepers with the most complex needs are provided with stable, affordable accommodation and intensive wrap-around support to help them recover from complex issues and sustain their tenancies. This includes, but is not limited to, victims of sexual violence.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to prevent rough sleeping (a) through the use of social housing and (b) by reforming the private rental sector.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In September 2022, we published our new cross-government strategy 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', setting out how we are investing £2 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, and our prevention first approach.
The Government has committed to continue working towards its ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. And the Local Authority Housing Fund will help ensure a new supply of social housing for communities across the country, especially those who have been most generous in welcoming arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
The Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced into Parliament on 17 May. The Bill will deliver a fairer, more secure, and higher quality private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century. The date for Second Reading of the Bill is subject to parliamentary scheduling and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 a recent assessment of the potential impact of ending fixed-term rental contracts on (a) the number of houses available to rent and (b) trends in the level of rental costs.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The green-rated Impact Assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill provides analysis of the impacts of reforms, including analysis on supply and rents.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192669 on Private Rented Housing: Guarantees, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Renters Reform Bill on family members, acting as a guarantor, who are being pursued for rent payments in the event of the death of a tenant.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Renters (Reform) Bill will generally abolish fixed-term tenancies so that a rental agreement can be ended with 2 months' notice at any point, meaning parties will not be obliged to pay rent for lengthy fixed terms.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made how many families who have been pursued by landlords for rental payments through guarantor schemes following the death of a relative in the last three years.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department does not hold information relating to specific clauses within guarantor agreements. I refer the Hon. Member to the Renters (Reform) Bill that is awaiting second reading in the Commons.