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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help support Cheltenham Borough Council to run high street rental auctions.

This government has introduced High Street Rental Auctions, powers available to local authorities in England to require landlords, regardless of their country of residence, to rent out vacant commercial premises. As a deterrent it is a criminal offence for a landlord not to engage in the auction process and where they do not comply local authorities are empowered to progress with the measures in their absence.

We want to ensure that councils across the country, such as Cheltenham Borough Council, have the support they need to implement the powers. To that end, a fund of £1 million is available to support delivery this financial year and a new burdens payment can be drawn down to meet the administrative costs. Furthermore our local authority early adopters are also available to offer practical support to help facilitate implementation.