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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Social housing rents consultation, published by his Department on 31 August 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential financial impact of capping rent increases on housing associations in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.

Our consultation on social housing rents in England issued on 31 August 2022 sought views on a temporary change to social housing rent policy that would take effect from 1 April 2023. Alongside this consultation we published an Impact Assessment (Annex D) which provided our assessment of the impact of options set out in our consultation paper – including on housing associations and local authorities. These documents can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/social-housing-rents-consultation.

The consultation closed on 12 October 2022 and we are currently reviewing the responses.