Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of mould in the (a) owner-occupied, (b) private rented and (c) social rented sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As set out in my answer to Question UIN 24168 on 3 May 2024, the English Housing Survey sets out levels of damp and mould in all tenures of residential accommodation. Details are available online.
For more information on the health impacts of damp and mould in homes, please see our consolidated guidance developed with the Department of Health and Social Care. It can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers.
Following the tragic death of the two-year-old Awaab Ishak, due to the appalling housing conditions that Awaab Ishak and his family had to live in, the Secretary of State summoned the leadership of their landlord, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, to explain why such catastrophic failures had been allowed to happen. The Government has also legislated for ‘Awaab’s law’, introduced via the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.
In his written statement of 9 January 2024 (HCWS174) the Secretary of State launched a consultation on how ‘Awaab’s law’ will operate in practice, including the specific requirements on social landlords. The consultation closed on 5 March 2024 and we are analysing the responses. Once this has been completed, we will bring forward secondary legislation as soon as possible.
The department, last year, provided £15 million of funding to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to tackle the worst cases of damp and mould. They have now completed improvements to around 4,000 homes.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when reforms to tenancy lengths under the provisions of the Renters (Reform) Bill will come into force for (a) existing tenancies and (b) new tenancies.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have committed to provide at least six months’ notice of our first implementation date after which all new tenancies will be periodic and governed by the new rules. To avoid a two-tier rental sector, and to make sure landlords and tenants are clear on their rights, all existing tenancies will transition to a new system on a second implementation date.
This phased implementation will support tenants, landlords and agents to adjust to and understand the new rules, while making sure that tenants can benefit from the new system as soon as reasonably possible. We will provide more details about our implementation plans in due course.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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 estimate of the average increase in rent for private properties in Wellingborough constituency in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the affordability of rent increases for people on average earnings in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The ONS publishes both rental price and rental affordability indexes at local authority and regional levels respectively, and the department publishes data on the number of unoccupied dwellings, as defined for council tax purposes, at local authority level. Data is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
The provision of affordable housing is part of the Government's plan to build more homes and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 what the average rental costs were for houses in multiple occupation in Lewisham East constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL2677 on 6 March 2024 and the answer to Question UIN 22233 on 22 April 2024. We are abolishing Section 21 evictions as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
No information is held centrally on the average rental costs of houses in multiple occupation in Lewisham East.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. This is why we are introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
We are also reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, which sets out the minimum requirements for all social housing.
Data on housing decency is published regularly via the English Housing Survey at local authority level.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 estimate of the average increase in monthly private rent in Warwick and Leamington constituency in the period between 2022 and 2023.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Rental data at constituency level is not held centrally.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
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 building an additional 1 million homes for social rent in the next 10 years; and whether he has had discussions with the private sector on building homes for social rent.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.
Since 2010, we have delivered over 696,100 new affordable homes, including over 482,000 affordable homes for rent, of which over 172,600 homes for social rent.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homes are classified as non-decent by (a) age and (b) tenure type in (i) Luton South constituency, (ii) Bedfordshire, and (iii) England.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. This is why we are introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
We are also reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, which sets out the minimum requirements for all social housing.
Data on housing decency is published regularly via the English Housing Survey at local authority level.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 reduce the number of non-decent homes in the (a) private rented and (b) social rented sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. This is why we are introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill.
We are also reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, which sets out the minimum requirements for all social housing.
Data on housing decency is published regularly via the English Housing Survey at local authority level.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of changes in the level of social security benefits on people living in unsuitable housing.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions spends around £30bn a year on housing support for renters in both the private and social rented sectors. Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are reviewed annually.
From April this year the Government is investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit gain on average, nearly £800 in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
LHA provides a reasonable level of housing support towards rental costs in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
The Department works closely with other government departments, stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.