Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of inflation on private rented tenants.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government recognises the cost of living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant's biggest monthly expense.
ONS data shows that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 6.8% in the 12 months to July 2023, while private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 5.3% in the 12 months to July 2023. However, we understand asking rents are rising more quickly, and we recognise that some families are facing difficulties.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of homes in London that have been empty for six months or more.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
As previously outlined to this House on 7 June 2023, the number of long-term empty homes remains substantially lower than when records began in 2004. As of May 2010, over 300,000 homes in England had been standing empty for longer than 6 months. As of October 2022, the number of long-term empty properties had fallen to 248,633.
The Government wants to encourage empty homes back into use and to empower local leaders to reinvest in their communities. Local authorities already have many powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus, they receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one.
Council Tax billing authorities in England currently have the power to charge up to 100% extra council tax - on top of the standard bill - on properties that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for at least two years, up to 200% extra on properties that have been empty for at least five years, and up to 300% extra on properties that have been empty for at least 10 years.
The Levelling up and Regeneration bill will give councils the power to apply the 100% premium on properties left empty after a year, rather than the current two years. The premium will provide local leaders with additional flexibility to help address the impacts of empty homes and improve the sustainability of local services where they consider that appropriate.
Additionally, in certain circumstances, local authorities can exercise powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal.
The Mayor of London, through the London Plan and Housing Strategy, sets out where homes should be built and what level of affordable housing is required.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Empty Dwelling Management Orders for tackling the number of empty houses in London.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
As previously outlined to this House on 7 June 2023, the number of long-term empty homes remains substantially lower than when records began in 2004. As of May 2010, over 300,000 homes in England had been standing empty for longer than 6 months. As of October 2022, the number of long-term empty properties had fallen to 248,633.
The Government wants to encourage empty homes back into use and to empower local leaders to reinvest in their communities. Local authorities already have many powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus, they receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one.
Council Tax billing authorities in England currently have the power to charge up to 100% extra council tax - on top of the standard bill - on properties that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for at least two years, up to 200% extra on properties that have been empty for at least five years, and up to 300% extra on properties that have been empty for at least 10 years.
The Levelling up and Regeneration bill will give councils the power to apply the 100% premium on properties left empty after a year, rather than the current two years. The premium will provide local leaders with additional flexibility to help address the impacts of empty homes and improve the sustainability of local services where they consider that appropriate.
Additionally, in certain circumstances, local authorities can exercise powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal.
The Mayor of London, through the London Plan and Housing Strategy, sets out where homes should be built and what level of affordable housing is required.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure service charges for tenants and leaseholders are (a) transparent and (b) communicated effectively; and whether he is taking steps to remove barriers for challenging the (a) setting and (b) recovery of service charges.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government strongly believes that service charges should be reasonable, transparent and communicated effectively for both tenants and leaseholders. We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this parliament.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Housing Ombudsman about complaint response times.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Department holds Accounting Officer meetings quarterly with the Ombudsman, where the focus is on tracking progress against performance indicators, including complaint handling times.
Baroness Scott met Richard Blakeway in March.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support for Homes for Ukraine hosts in the context of recent rises in the cost of living.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In recognition of their ongoing support amidst the rising cost-of-living pressures, all sponsors will receive an increased 'thank you' payment of £500 a month for guests who have been in the country for over a year. 'Thank you' payments will also be extended from 12 months to two years, so that guests who may not yet be ready to move into independent accommodation can stay in sponsorship for longer where sponsors are willing to extend arrangements.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 December 2022, HCWS447, on Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Update, how much of the £150 million funding to support Ukrainian guests to move into their own home has been allocated to local authorities; and if he will publish a breakdown of that funding by authority.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
On 14 December 2022, we announced £150 million funding for 2023/24 to support Ukrainians and others into sustainable accommodation.
We will set out updates in the usual way.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the launch of the Social Housing Complaint Campaign, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the Housing Ombudsman's caseload; and what additional resources he has allocated to the Housing Ombudsman.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government launched the 'Make Things Right' campaign on 6th March 2023 to encourage and inform residents on how to make their voices heard by making a complaint to their landlord in the first instance and escalating to the Housing Ombudsman if they remain unhappy.
I refer the Hon member to the Housing Ombudsman’s annual report, available here, and to their consultation document published here.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the launch of the Social Housing Complaint Campaign, what the current average waiting time is for residents raising cases with the Housing Ombudsman.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government launched the 'Make Things Right' campaign on 6th March 2023 to encourage and inform residents on how to make their voices heard by making a complaint to their landlord in the first instance and escalating to the Housing Ombudsman if they remain unhappy.
I refer the Hon member to the Housing Ombudsman’s annual report, available here, and to their consultation document published here.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require homes in England to have interlinked smoke alarms.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Building Regulations require that buildings include appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire. To meet the guidance on fire safety in Approved Document B, all new dwellings, and existing dwellings undergoing building work, should have interlinked fire alarms.