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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their decision to extend the ban on tenant evictions by a further two months, what plans they have to support private landlords with tenants who had already built up rent arrears before the restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced and who are receiving no income from their property.

The Government has put in place an unprecedented support package to help ensure that tenants are able to pay their rent throughout this period. We have introduced support for business to pay staff salaries with income support also available to the self-employed and have strengthened the welfare safety-net with a nearly £7 billion boost to the welfare system. This includes increasing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents in each area.

To support landlords who are experiencing a temporary loss of income, mortgage lenders have agreed to offer payment holidays of up to three months where this is needed due to coronavirus-related hardship, including for buy-to-let mortgages. On 2 June, the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that borrowers can apply for an extension to any holiday already taken while extending the window for new applications to 31 October. Landlords should contact their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss if the payment holiday is a suitable option for them.