Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 potential merits of giving local authorities increased powers to secure the eviction of tenants for reasons of anti-social behaviour when the landlord (a) is unwilling to evict those tenants or (b) cannot be located.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Action Plan is ensuring orderly behaviour by strengthening powers in the social and private rental sector to evict or sanction tenants who persistently commit anti-social behaviour
Both local authority and housing association landlords have legal powers to evict tenants should anti-social behaviour be identified as an issue.
Changes to the eviction process will be brought in through the Renters Reform bill which will be introduced as soon as time allows in this parliament.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to bring into force each of the measures to change the eviction process for anti-social behaviour set out in paragraph 31 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March 2023.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Action Plan is ensuring orderly behaviour by strengthening powers in the social and private rental sector to evict or sanction tenants who persistently commit anti-social behaviour
Both local authority and housing association landlords have legal powers to evict tenants should anti-social behaviour be identified as an issue.
Changes to the eviction process will be brought in through the Renters Reform bill which will be introduced as soon as time allows in this parliament.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, under the proposed changes to possession in the Renters’ Reform Bill, renters can be evicted every eight months with the new grounds due to no fault of their own.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Government is committed to delivering a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. We will deliver the manifesto commitment to end Section 21 evictions; this will mean that a landlord will only be able to evict their tenants in specific circumstances defined in law and they must be prepared to provide evidence of this in court. Under our proposals, landlords will be able to get possession of their properties when they need to, these reforms will include mandatory grounds for if a landlord wishes to sell or move into the property with two months’ notice periods. To protect tenants’ security, landlords will not be able to use these grounds in the first six months of a tenancy. Our reforms strike the right balance between improving security for tenants and ensuring landlords continue to feel confident in the market.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made (1) to inform their plans for two-month eviction periods to be set out in the upcoming Renters Reform Bill, and (2) of whether this is sufficient notice for a family with children in school to find a new home in their local area.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Government is committed to delivering a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. As set out in our 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector' White Paper, the Government has committed to ending Section 21 no fault evictions. At the same time, we will reform the grounds for evictions to ensure that landlords are able to get possession of their properties when they need to, these reforms will include mandatory grounds for if a landlord wishes to sell or move into the property with two months’ notice periods. To protect tenants' security, landlords will not be able to use these grounds in the first six months of a tenancy and to prevent misuse they will not be able to relet the property in the 3 months following the end of the tenancy.
The notice period we are proposing balances the needs of both tenants and landlords, giving tenants and their families time to find a new home while ensuring landlords can manage their assets when they need to do so. However, we encourage landlords to work flexibly with their tenants and notify them of their intentions as far in advance as possible. We encourage tenants who receive notice to consider their options as soon as possible and to contact their local authority if they are at risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to bring forward a rental reform white paper.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government remains committed to building back fairer and delivering a better deal for renters. We will publish a White Paper this spring that will set out a package of reforms to create a fairer private rented sector.
We are undertaking robust and structured engagement with stakeholders to inform our plans, while also learning from the pandemic’s impact on the sector.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 ban Section 21 no-fault evictions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. The Government's consultation, 'A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants' sought views on how the new system should operate. This received almost 20,000 responses, which we are carefully considering as we develop our response. We will publish a response to the consultation as well as a White Paper detailing our plans for reform of the private rented sector later this year. The White Paper will provide further detail on repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish a the response to the consultation, A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the Balance of Rights and Responsibilities Between Landlords and Tenants.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government’s consultation, ‘A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants’ sought views on how the new system should operate. This received almost 20,000 responses, which we are carefully considering as we develop our response.
We are committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. We will publish a response to the consultation as well as a White Paper detailing our plans for reform of the private rented sector later this year.
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 the Government's timescale is for bringing forward legislative proposals to end the use of section 21 no fault evictions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters, including abolishing section 21 evictions, to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. We have been working with stakeholders across the sector, including holding a series of roundtable discussions, to inform this.
We will publish a White Paper that sets out the Government's plans in 2022 to allow the requisite time to develop an ambitious and considered package of reforms. Our priority is to create a fairer private rented sector that works for both landlords and tenants. It is vital that we take the time to get this right to avoid any unintended consequences for the sector.
We remain firmly committed to the Renters Reform programme, including abolishing section 21 evictions, and we will continue to engage with the sector to inform this. We will bring forward legislation in due course and when parliamentary time allows.
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 progress his Department has made on ending the use of section 21 no fault evictions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters, including abolishing section 21 evictions, to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. We have been working with stakeholders across the sector, including holding a series of roundtable discussions, to inform this.
We will publish a White Paper that sets out the Government's plans in 2022 to allow the requisite time to develop an ambitious and considered package of reforms. Our priority is to create a fairer private rented sector that works for both landlords and tenants. It is vital that we take the time to get this right to avoid any unintended consequences for the sector.
We remain firmly committed to the Renters Reform programme, including abolishing section 21 evictions, and we will continue to engage with the sector to inform this. We will bring forward legislation in due course and when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the security of tenants in the private rented sector, in particular those affected by (1) the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and (2) the reduction in Universal Credit payments.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Universal Credit uplift were important elements of the wider package of support measures introduced by the Government during the pandemic. These measures have effectively prevented a widespread build-up of rent arrears and prevented evictions, by supporting private renters to continue paying their rent.
This is evidenced by the latest published data from the English Housing Survey Household Resilience Study from April – May 2021, which suggested that the vast majority (93%) of private renters are up to date with their rent. Of the 7% (257,000 households) in arrears, 60% are in arrears of less than 1 month.
In 2020/21, there was over a 40% reduction in households owed a homelessness duty following the end of an assured shorthold tenancy, compared with 2019/20.
As emergency measures are lifted, support remains in place for renters through the welfare system. This includes maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at their increased level in cash terms for 2021/22, and for those who need additional support £140m in Discretionary Housing Payments funding, and the new £500 million Household Support Fund.
As our recovery gathers pace, the government is continuing to help people into work and increase their earning potential – the most sustainable route to financial security. We are investing billions through our Plan for Jobs and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
We will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID-19 upon renters and are committed to delivering a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. This includes repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to improve security for tenants. We will set out our proposals for reform in due course.