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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of increases in the cost of living, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that (a) social landlords and (b) local authorities are unable to evict anyone who defaults on their rent payments.

We recognise people are facing pressures with the cost of living – which is why we are providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next and significant support remains in place through the welfare system.

To encourage landlords to work with residents who may have defaulted on rent payments, the Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords sets out the actions social landlords should take before they consider taking legal action for rent arrears. These actions include making early contact with tenants to discuss the cause of the arrears; checking eligibility for housing benefit and assisting with any claim; and agreeing affordable repayment terms for the arrears. The pre-action protocol can be found at: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/pre-action-protocol-for-possession-claims-by-social-landlords.

For those at risk of homelessness, local authorities can use Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) funding flexibly – for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation, among other preventative measures. For 2021/22 we have provided local authorities with £375 million in HPG funding, including the additional £65 million to help prevent private renters with COVID-related arrears in England from becoming homeless. We will be providing a further £315.8 million in HPG funding for 2022/23.