Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January, Question 107071, whether his Department or any body administering Government-backed loan guarantees or financing facilities have undertaken any quantitative modelling or formal assessment of the impact of the rent review provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on (a) cash-flow certainty, (b) valuation assumptions or (c) default risk for build-to-rent developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107071 on 28 January.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 23786 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, how many clarification meetings have taken place with other developers on other planning applications since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Clarification meetings do not routinely take place with developers on planning applications. However, pre-application engagement occurs on some applications made directly to the Secretary of State. These, and all, planning applications are subject to planning propriety guidance.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the rent review provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on the risk profile of loans supported by Government-backed loan guarantees or financing facilities to the build-to-rent sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with lenders on assessing the potential impact of changes to rent review mechanics in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on loan availability, loan-to-value ratios and pricing for build-to-rent schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, what assessment the Government has made of the availability for controlled access or publication of rental price data held by the statutory tenancy deposit schemes, including data on achieved rents at the start of tenancies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The use of data collected by Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) schemes is governed by the Housing Act 2004 and by the individual data sharing agreements in place with each scheme provider.
My Department has not undertaken a detailed assessment of options for controlled public access or publication of rental price data held by the statutory tenancy deposit schemes.
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 does not provide powers that would enable any further use of TDP data beyond the purposes for which it is currently permitted.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rent review provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on the viability and future pipeline of build-to-rent developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has modelled any increase in contingent liabilities arising from changes to rent review certainty under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rent review provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on the valuation methodology of build-to-rent developments where future rental growth assumptions form a material part of valuation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what Government-backed loan guarantees or financing facilities currently support lending to the build-to-rent sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government‘s £3.5 billion Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme (PRSGS) was reopened in March 2025 to new applicants for another three years and makes loan guarantees available for Build-to-Rent operators to support housebuilding
Build to Rent operators are also one of the groups that benefit from finance from our £2 billion Home Building Fund.
We have also announced that the National Housing Bank, backed by up to £16 billion of finance, will be launched in April 2026. Its detailed investment approach will be outlined in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what modelling he has undertaken on the expected number of market rent determination applications following implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department continues to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Service to ensure that the justice system is well prepared for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, including the potential impact of the Act on the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
This includes ensuring that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring data relating to rent increase challenges in the Residential Property Tribunal.
The justice system will be supported with funding to ensure that the courts and tribunals have the resources and capacity they need to handle the workload that implementation of the Act will generate.