Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to introduce (a) mitigations for and (b) controls on increases in rents for private rented accommodation in the context of private renters also facing increases in energy costs.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. That is why we have taken action to support those who need it most worth over £37 billion in 2022-23. Almost all of the eight million most vulnerable households will get £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400.

To support those who need further help, the Government is providing an additional £500 million of local support to help households with the rising cost of food, energy and water bills. This brings the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion and extends the Household Support Fund until March 2023.

In the Queen's Speech 2022, we committed to introducing a Renters Reform Bill in this parliamentary session. Through this, we will abolish 'no fault' evictions by removing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, providing security for tenants in the private rented sector and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction.