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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce longer minimum rental contracts to provide renters with more financial stability.

As announced in the Queen's Speech, the Government has committed to introduce a package of reforms to deliver a better deal for renters, and a fairer and more effective rental market. A Renters’ Reform Bill will enhance renters’ security and improve protections for tenants by abolishing ‘no-fault’ evictions.

The Government is committed to bringing forward legislation to abolish section 21 but such legislation must be balanced and considered to achieve the right outcomes for the sector. It is only right that providing tenants with greater security of tenure is balanced with an assurance that landlords are able to recover their properties where they have valid reasons to do so. This is vital to ensuring the future supply of good quality housing in the rented sector.

We will bring forward the Renters Reform Bill as a priority once the urgencies of responding to the pandemic have passed.