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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions relating to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) under the Housing Act 2004 on the (a) incidence of landlords renting to families rather than sharers and (b) availability of affordable housing for young professional sharers; and if he will bring forward proposals to make HMOs more accessible to young professional sharers.

The Department does not collect this information. We see houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) as one of the most accessible tenures, especially for young professionals.

We are working to increase supply by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including the £1 billion Build to Rent Fund, which funds development of new purpose-built privately rented homes, alongside a £10 billion debt guarantee programme.