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

To ask His Majesty's Government what definition they use for "knowingly" and "recklessly" in the offence of knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground under section 16J of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by section 15 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Renters' Rights Act delivers the government's manifesto commitment to overhaul the regulation of the private rented sector, including by abolishing Section 21 'no fault' evictions.

Misuse of a possession ground is a serious matter, particularly where this results in the tenant giving up their tenancy. It is ultimately for the courts and tribunals to determine what “knowingly” and “recklessly” mean when deciding whether the offence under section 16J(1) has been committed.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many local authority staff in England have responsibility for enforcement action in the private rented sector.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department does not currently hold the requested information. However, we are 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 full-time equivalent staff responsible for enforcement in the private rented sector.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government in what circumstances they would make regulations under section 14ZB(6) of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by section 7(10) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question (attached) UIN HL10508.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of digitising possession cases on the speed at which legitimate possession cases are processed by the courts when the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins to be implemented

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The most recent published statistics show that claim to possession order median timeliness is currently 7.6 weeks, an improvement from the same period in 2024, and within the 8 weeks set out in the Civil Procedure Rules: (Mortgage and landlord possession statistics - GOV.UK). As the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented, HMCTS will put in place measures including additional sitting days and administrative resource to ensure sufficient capacity is in place for the county court to handle the anticipated change to the possession caseload.

The digital service will offer an online route for making and responding to possession claims, filing documents, and receiving updates and outcomes, offering an improved user experience through guided journeys. It will reduce the time taken to deal with printing, posting and administrative handling of paper forms.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Master of the Rolls about the impact of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on the justice system.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the Government's relationship with the judiciary. As would be expected, he and other Departmental Ministers have regular engagement with the senior judiciary, including the Master of the Rolls, on a whole host of matters including legislation that affects the justice system.

It is standard practice not to comment on the specifics of discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. In line with constitutional conventions, discussions with the judiciary do not cover the merits of policy proposals and are limited to technical matters relating to the operation of the courts and the wider administration of justice.

Found: sitting.Current membership House of Lords Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative; Life peer) Lord Carter of Haslemere

Found: In response to a recent written question from Lord Carter of Haslemere (HL10508), the Minister reaffirmed