Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish its White Paper on renters' reforms.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government remains committed to building back fairer and having a better deal for renters. We will publish a white paper this Spring that will set out the Government's plans to introduce once-in-a-generation reforms to create a fairer private rented sector (PRS).
We want to improve the overall experience of renters and landlords as well as local authorities who play an invaluable role in enforcing the PRS.
We are currently undertaking extensive and wide-ranging engagement with tenants and landlords, key delivery partners such as local authorities as well as key stakeholders to inform the reform programme.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 potential effect of abolishing no fault evictions on frequency of rent increases intended to instigate an eviction.
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. This will enhance renters’ security and improve protections for tenants by abolishing so-called “no-fault” evictions through removing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and by ensuring the grounds for possession are fit for purpose. This represents a generational change in the law that governs private renting, so landlords will always have to provide a reason for ending a tenancy, such as breach of contract or wanting to move into the property.
This will provide tenants with more stability, protecting them from having to move at short notice, and allow them to put down roots and challenge poor standards where they exist, short notice moves, and plan for the future.
The Government is keen to avoid any unintended negative consequences related with abolishing Section 21. As part of this, we are clear that there should not be any mechanism for landlords to force a tenant to leave the property by including clauses in fixed term tenancy agreements which hike up the rent by excessive or unreasonable amounts just before the agreement is due to expire.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will bring forward plans to extend the forfeiture moratorium for commercial rents debt.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced on 16 June that the Government will introduce legislation to support the orderly resolution of rental payments accrued by commercial tenants during the pandemic. New legislation will ringfence rent debt accrued from March 2020 for tenants who have been impacted by Covid-19 business closures until restrictions are removed for their sector, and introduce a system of binding arbitration.
We expect terms to be agreed between commercial landlords and tenants affected by closures to defer or waive entirely a proportion of those rent arrears. But where agreement cannot be reached, both the landlord and tenant will need to undertake binding arbitration.
It is the Government’s expectation that landlords should share the financial burden with tenants where they are able to do so and give tenants breathing space to agree new terms, but also that tenants who can pay, should pay. This will also mean a return to normal contractual arrangements for those tenants able to pay rent debts in full and not affected by closures.
Until this legislation is in place, the existing moratorium on evictions will be extended to 25 March 2022. Statutory demands and winding up petitions will also remain restricted for a further three months to protect companies from creditor enforcement action where their debts relate to the pandemic. We will bring forward legislation during this parliamentary session.