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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the extent of landlords and private letting agents refusing prospective tenants who are in receipt of support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The Department does not hold this information but there is no reason landlords or letting agents should be refusing tenants outright on the basis of being furloughed.

The Government has put in place an unprecedented financial package, which supports renters and helps them to afford their housing costs. This includes support for businesses to pay staff salaries through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has now been extended until the end of September 2021.

A letting agent is free to carry out any referencing checks within the law as they deem appropriate before accepting a new tenant. This may include income requirements or the need for a guarantor, depending on the decision of the individual landlord.