To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Mortgages
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of (a) the number of private rented sector properties with an outstanding mortgage and (b) the cost per landlord of measures in the Renters' Reform Bill in the (i) short, (ii) medium and (iii) long term.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Evictions
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the timeframe for court digitisation being sufficiently progressed to allow for implementation of a ban on section 21 no fault evictions.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Homelessness
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for private rented sector tenants becoming homeless.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Registration
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who will have access to information on the Privately Rented Property Portal; and whether he plans to take steps to protect the privacy of tenants’ information stored on the Privately Rented Property Portal from other Departments and enforcement agencies.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.

We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.

Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.

Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.

The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.

Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.


Written Question
Rented Housing: Older People
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help individuals aged over 65 living in rented accommodation.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Renters (Reform) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. It will deliver the Government’s commitment to a fairer private rented sector in England, improving the system for responsible tenants and good faith landlords.


Written Question
Holiday Accommodation and Multiple Occupation: Tax Allowances
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Budget statement announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 6 March, what assessment they have made of the long-term implications of abolishing tax relief for holiday lets and ending multiple dwelling relief from stamp duty land tax on the housing market and local economies.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

By abolishing the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime, the government will remove the current incentive for landlords to offer short‑term holiday lets rather than longer-term homes. This will level the playing field between short-term holiday lets and long-term lets and support people to live in their local area.

An external evaluation exploring the use of Multiple Dwellings Relief showed no strong evidence the relief is meeting its original objectives of supporting investment in the private rented sector.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Disability
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

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 (a) challenges faced by disabled renters in the private rented sector and (b) potential impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on tackling those challenges.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government is committed to helping disabled people to live independently and safely in their home. The Renters (Reform) Bill will help improve the quality of privately rented homes by introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time. This will ensure tenants, including those with disabilities, benefit from homes that are safe and decent.

Through the abolition of Section 21 evictions, the Bill will give all tenants greater security in their home and will empower disabled tenants to challenge poor practice and request home adaptations where they are needed, without worrying about retaliatory eviction by their landlord. The Bill will also create a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman which tenants can complain to if they think their landlord unreasonably refused permission to make an adaptation to their home. The Bill will also make practices by landlords and/or those acting on their behalf which discriminate against those who receive benefits, including disability benefits, illegal.

We are working with a range of stakeholders to understand what information is important to tenants when using the property portal and will outline this in regulations.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Databases
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Property Portal to record accessibility information on private sector dwellings.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government is committed to helping disabled people to live independently and safely in their home. The Renters (Reform) Bill will help improve the quality of privately rented homes by introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time. This will ensure tenants, including those with disabilities, benefit from homes that are safe and decent.

Through the abolition of Section 21 evictions, the Bill will give all tenants greater security in their home and will empower disabled tenants to challenge poor practice and request home adaptations where they are needed, without worrying about retaliatory eviction by their landlord. The Bill will also create a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman which tenants can complain to if they think their landlord unreasonably refused permission to make an adaptation to their home. The Bill will also make practices by landlords and/or those acting on their behalf which discriminate against those who receive benefits, including disability benefits, illegal.

We are working with a range of stakeholders to understand what information is important to tenants when using the property portal and will outline this in regulations.


Written Question
Low Incomes: Rents
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income renters.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We spend around £30bn annually on housing support for low-income renters in the private and social rented sectors.

From April we are investing £1.2bn increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents, ensuring 1.6m private renters gain on average almost £800 in 2024/25 in additional support towards rental costs. This significant investment will cost £7bn over five years.

Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who need additional support. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn for DHPs to local authorities.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Disability
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

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 how many Disabled people were evicted thorough section 21 no-fault evictions in the private rented sector in 2023.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14713 on 22 February 2024.