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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with his Scottish counterpart on the experience of Rent Services Scotland to inform the development of (a) an alternative body and (b) mechanism to make initial rent determinations in cases of Section 13 rent appeals.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Officials in my Department engage regularly with a range of stakeholders, including officials working in Rent Services Scotland.

Subject to a final viability assessment, the government intends to establish an alternative body or mechanism to the First-tier Tribunal to make initial rent determinations. We will confirm further details in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in undertaking a viability assessment for the use of (a) an alternative body and (b) a mechanism to make initial rent determinations in cases of Section 13 rent appeals.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Officials in my Department engage regularly with a range of stakeholders, including officials working in Rent Services Scotland.

Subject to a final viability assessment, the government intends to establish an alternative body or mechanism to the First-tier Tribunal to make initial rent determinations. We will confirm further details in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the cumulative costs associated with the RRA on the new PRS supply.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 108214 on 3 February 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made of the need for the PRS database to allow block-registrations to accommodate large-scale landlords.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is considering how data might be collected with a view to minimise administrative requirements on private landlords.

I refer the hon. Member to the roadmap for implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025 published on 13 November 2025 which can be found on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Local Government organisations on the administration of Selective Licensing schemes and how learnings from those schemes are informing development of the PRS database.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Selective licensing schemes and the Private Rented Sector Database have entirely different purposes. Unlike the Database, individual selective licensing schemes enable more intensive proactive enforcement strategies to address specific local issues.

My Department has engaged extensively with local authorities in respect of the development of the Database. We are considering all relevant insights they have provided, including their experience of administrating selective licensing schemes. We will review any learnings from this engagement as we finalise the design of the service and refine the way the two systems work together.

Excise