Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made on the adequacy of the number of local authority staff with responsibility for enforcement action in the private rented sector.

Through the Renters’ Rights Act, the government is strengthening local authorities’ enforcement powers and extending and increasing ring-fenced civil penalties to support a ‘polluter pays’ approach to enforcement of the new tenancy system.

In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities resulting from the Act are fully funded. To that end, my Department is providing £41.12 million to local housing authorities for this financial year to help them undertake their new enforcement responsibilities. This funding is in addition to the £18.2 million provided in 2025/26.

Our aim over the long term is to establish a sustainable funding system for private rented sector enforcement based on future Private Rented Sector Database fee revenues. We will set out further details in due course.