Pay full housing costs for benefit claimants in private rented accommodation
- 18 Signatures
(Estimated Final Signatures: 87 - 1 added in the past 24hrs)
I request that the Government amend how housing costs are paid for benefit claimants in private rented accommodation, to reflect the increased costs of renting, and impact this can have on claimants.
Found: Many people have no choice but to rent housing at extortionate prices which are not fully met through
Nov. 08 2010
Source Page: I. Table showing the number of housing benefit recipients in the private rented sector by local authority, 2001 to 2007. II. Table showing the number of housing benefit recipients in the private rented sector, including local housing allowance, by local authority, 2008 to 2010.Found: Table showing the number of housing benefit recipients in the private rented sector by local authority
Jul. 05 2010
Source Page: Table showing householders in the private rented sector (a) by working age, (b) above working age, (c) in each bedroom size property and (d) in total are in receipt of housing benefit in each housing authority area. 13 p.Found: Table showing householders in the private rented sector (a) by working age, (b) above working age, (c
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to help tackle increases in average monthly rent for private tenants.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the cost of living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The level of private sector rents is not directly a matter for Government, however, we are taking steps to increase housebuilding to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market over the long term. The Government is on track to meet its manifesto commitment to deliver a million homes over this Parliament.
The Government also welcomes new institutional investment in the private rented sector. The Build to Rent sector has built over 100,000 new homes over the past 13 years and they continue to play a part in increasing the supply of homes in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle age-based discrimination in the private rented sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Everyone is entitled to a safe and decent home, regardless of their age. The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver the Government’s commitment to ‘a fairer private rented sector’. Our reforms will improve the system for all responsible tenants, providing greater security and certainty of quality accommodation - including for the growing numbers of older people living in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase protections for tenants in the private rented sector who are affected by mould and damp.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030 and we are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We have tabled amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill that will require private rented sector properties to meet a Decent Homes Standard for the first time. We are exploring the merits of a standalone damp and mould standard that all landlords, private and social, must meet.
More information on our work on damp and mould in the private rented sector can be found in the answer given to Question UIN 11180 on 30 January 2024.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department (a) has made an assessment of and (b) holds data produced by commissioned research on the potential impact of changes proposed by the Renters (Reform) Bill on the number of private residential landlords.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver the government’s commitment to ‘a fairer private rented sector’.
The Bill’s green rated impact assessment estimated the gross costs of reforms amount to just £10 per rented property annually – approximately 0.1% of mean annual rents.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance he provides to local authorities on the provision of suitable accommodation when private landlords fail to tackle damp and mould in residential properties.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing setting out his expectations that they tackle dangerous damp and mould in their properties. We have now introduced ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will set new requirements for social landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould.
We have given local authorities strong enforcement powers that they must use if they identify dangerous damp and mould in privately rented homes and, through the Renters (Reform) Bill, are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. Guidance for local authorities on how to ensure accommodation for homeless applicants is suitable can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities/chapter-17-suitability-of-accommodation.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to reduce private sector rents in Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the cost of living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The level of private sector rents is not directly a matter for Government, however, we are taking steps to increase housebuilding to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market over the long term. The Government is on track to meet its manifesto commitment to deliver a million homes over this Parliament.
The Government also welcomes new institutional investment in the private rented sector. The Build to Rent sector has built over 100,000 new homes over the past 13 years and they continue to play a part in increasing the supply of homes in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the proportion of private rental properties that do not meet the decent homes standard; and what plans he has to help improve housing quality.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The most recent data on properties in the private rented sector (PRS) that failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) are published at: English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023: headline report (data on dwelling condition is in Chapter 4).
Through the Renters (Reform) Bill, we are legislating to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS for the first time.