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

To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to paragraph 24 of Schedule 1 to the Renters' Rights Bill, whether the protection for tenants from enforcement of rent arrears in respect of delayed universal credit payments apply only in respect of the first universal credit payment; and if so, whether this is consistent with the wording of the Bill which does not state it is limited.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce new protections for tenants who temporarily fall into rent arrears, supporting both parties by preventing tenancies which are otherwise viable from ending. We will protect tenants from eviction if their arrears are due to the timing of a relevant welfare payment. Tenants will not face mandatory eviction under Ground 8 if they breach the three months arrears threshold because they have not yet received a Universal Credit payment for housing costs which they have been assessed as entitled to.

As Universal Credit is assessed every month, the protection period will apply in any period between the end of an assessment period and the relevant Universal Credit payment, which can usually be up to five days.