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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reduction in the number of private rental properties in the past 12 months.

My Department has made no such assessment. The most recent data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) 2024-25, shows 4.7 million households rent privately, which is equivalent to 11 million people and 19% of the housing market – remaining relatively stable at this level since 2013-14.

Market data from Rightmove report a 3% increase in available rental homes in Q1 2026 compared to the previous year, and UK Finance data show that the number of buy-to-let loans was 14% higher at the start of 2026 compared with the start of 2025.