Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, whether the Disabled Facilities Grant will be available to disabled residents required to pay for changes to living circumstances arising from recommendations of person-centred fire risk assessments.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 regulations, residents with disabilities or impairments in high-rise and certain medium rise buildings will be entitled to a person-centred fire risk assessment to identify equipment and adjustments to aid their fire safety and evacuation. Where costs arise, these may fall to the building owner, all residents or the individual resident. Where the cost of an identified mitigation would fall to the resident, the resident can decline to pay for it, in which case that mitigation may not be put in place. The Government has committed funding this year (2025/26) supporting social housing providers to deliver RPEEPs for their renters. Future years funding will be considered through the Spending Review process.
Residents can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant from their local council which can help cover the capital costs of adaptations so they can live safely and independently at home.
Local housing authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for disabled people following a needs assessment, means test, eligibility criteria and subject to any permissions required from a landlord. They also have powers to provide financial assistance for adaptations for those that do not qualify for funding under the duty, and in some cases to waive the means test.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing to ensure that kitchens over 20 years old are renewed by social landlords.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that families in all forms of temporary accommodation have access to adequate cooking facilities.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Our Homelessness Code of Guidance provides a summary of the homelessness legislation duties, powers and obligations on local housing authorities, including the quality standards of temporary accommodation.
Legislation is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for the needs of the household and that suitability of accommodation should be kept under review. Households may ask for a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
The Government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors. It is the government’s intention that the Decent Homes Standard should apply to as much of the temporary accommodation sector as possible. We will consult on the detail of the new standard in due course.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) regulations and (b) enforcement mechanisms to hold landlords accountable for non-compliance with housing standards in the student sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to improving housing quality for students and will apply a Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to the private rented sector (PRS) for the first time to ensure homes are safe, secure and hazard free. This will include homes let to students on assured tenancies. The Renters’ Rights Bill is the means by which this will be done.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will also provide local authorities with effective enforcement powers for the DHS. Where a local authority serves a notice and the landlord fails to make the necessary improvements to meet the DHS, the local authority will be able to prosecute the landlord or alternatively impose on them a financial penalty of up to £40,000 – the proceeds of which it must use for future PRS enforcement action. Tenants (and local authorities, where any rent has been paid via Universal Credit) will also be able to take direct action in such instances by pursuing a rent repayment order, meaning the responsible landlord will need to pay the tenant (or local authority) up to two years’ rent.
The Bill will exempt Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) from the assured tenancy system if the landlord is signed up to a government approved code of management practice. Such accommodation will therefore not be subject to the DHS, but landlords will need to meet rigorous standards set by the codes which are tailored to the needs of PBSA. This includes maintaining the safety of the accommodation, ensuring the property is well-managed and making sure there is an effective working relationship between tenants and managers. Members of the codes must also have robust procedures in place for handling complaints and remedying issues raised by students. Failure to meet these standards will result in membership being terminated, meaning the property will then be subject to the DHS.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of new social homes built across London; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for affordable housing in London.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to incentivise private developers to build more (a) social and (b) affordable homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December includes a number of changes to planning policy designed to support social and affordable housing delivery.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hidden homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected. We will look at these issues carefully, including issues around hidden homelessness, to make sure we put in place services that meet people’s needs.
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy. We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. We have no plans to appoint an external champion.
We recognise England is in an acute housing crisis and there is insufficient social housing to meet demand. This Government will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, and has already set out a number of steps: Housing targets increased to get Britain building again - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Local authorities have the freedom to manage their own social housing waiting lists, so they can decide who should qualify for social housing in their area and develop solutions that make best use of the social housing stock.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to improve the regulation of under-performing housing associations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing are required to meet the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing.
On 1 April 2024, the Regulator introduced a new, proactive consumer regulation regime. It has begun proactively seeking assurances that registered providers are meeting the outcomes of the strengthened consumer standards through routine regulatory inspections of large landlords. Following a programmed inspection, the Regulator will issue all large landlords with a consumer grading to make clear how landlords are performing. In addition, it continues to issue all large private registered providers with governance and viability gradings.
There are a range of actions the Regulator can take where the outcomes set by the standards are not being delivered, including formal enforcement action.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the regulatory standards for housing associations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing are required to meet the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing.
On 1 April 2024, the Regulator introduced a new, proactive consumer regulation regime. It has begun proactively seeking assurances that registered providers are meeting the outcomes of the strengthened consumer standards through routine regulatory inspections of large landlords. Following a programmed inspection, the Regulator will issue all large landlords with a consumer grading to make clear how landlords are performing. In addition, it continues to issue all large private registered providers with governance and viability gradings.
There are a range of actions the Regulator can take where the outcomes set by the standards are not being delivered, including formal enforcement action.
Asked by: Uma Kumaran (Labour - Stratford and Bow)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal right for (a) tenants and (b) residents to trigger an audit of service charges where bills are disputed.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building.
By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the various provisions of the Act into force.
Leaseholders in shared ownership properties whose leases qualify for protections set out in the Building Safety Act are protected from the costs of internal building safety defects, with a cost cap proportionate to their equity stake in the property.
All leaseholders can benefit from the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme or Developer Scheme for the removal of unsafe cladding. The Government understands the difficulties some leaseholders are still experiencing and has committed to review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and to accelerate the pace of remediation.