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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Residents Landlords Association regarding the development of a landlord–tenant conciliation service.

Government holds regular discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including the National Residents Landlords Association (NRLA) and they have presented their proposals regarding a landlord-tenant conciliation service.

We encourage landlords and tenants to work together to resolve issues and have been piloting a new mediation service since February 2021 as part of the possession process to support landlords and tenants to resolve disputes before a formal hearing takes place. The Government is funding the Society of Mediators to provide this new service and it is free to use for all tenants and landlords that agree to do so.

More broadly, the Government remains committed to proposals that will require private landlords to belong to a redress scheme. This will ensure that all tenants have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home, and will also make it easier for private landlords to understand their obligations. We re-stated this commitment at the Queen's Speech in May.

We will publish a White Paper detailing our reform programme following engagement with stakeholders.