Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the three properties threshold for qualifying lease status outlined in the Building Safety Act 2022 on the private rented sector.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Building Safety Act introduced leaseholder protections to ensure leaseholders are safe in their buildings. A threshold which set a balance between those purchasing properties primarily to live in and those who have made commercial or investment decisions, whether freeholders or leaseholders, was therefore needed.
There are protections in place for leaseholders who do not qualify. Building owners and landlords who built defective buildings of at least 11m or at least five storeys, or are associated with those responsible, must pay to remedy historical safety defects for both cladding and non-cladding defects. The principal residence of all leaseholders in relevant buildings will qualify for the protections. In addition, remediation contribution orders and the Defective Premises Act provide routes for leaseholders in relevant buildings to recover remediation costs from those responsible, whatever their qualifying status.
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, whether his Department plans to take steps to support tenants of private landlords to take action against landlords who (a) refuse to act and (b) delay acting on cases of (i) damp and (ii) mould.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have been very clear that where landlords of private rented sector properties fail to act on damp and mould, local authorities must support tenants by holding landlords to account, including taking enforcement action where necessary.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the median (a) difference between the cost of rent and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in households where rent exceeds the LHA and (b) deduction of universal credit claims due to (i) universal credit advances, (ii) universal credit overpayments, (iii) tax credit overpayments and (iv) other reasons for people in the private rented sector for whom the LHA does not fully cover their rent.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead, it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
The requested information is provided below
Table 1: Median deduction amount for households where Local Housing Allowance does not cover rent in August 2023. | |
Deduction type | Median deduction amount for the selected deduction type |
Advance Repayments | £43 |
DWP non-fraud overpayments | £49 |
Tax Credit overpayments | £42 |
Other (Not in the above) | £25 |
Table 2: Number of households where Local Housing Allowance does not cover rent in August 2023. | |
Deduction type | Number of Households |
Advance Repayments | 270,000 |
DWP non-fraud overpayments | 140,000 |
Tax Credit overpayments | 90,000 |
Households with any combination of: advance repayments, DWP non-fraud overpayments or tax credit overpayments | 380,000 |
I refer the member to the answer provided on 31 January 2024, that shows the median difference between the cost of rent and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in households where rent exceeds the LHA, available here: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Notes:
1. Household numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10,000 and deduction amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1.
2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.
3. "Advances" include all four UC advance types: New Claim, Benefit Transfer, Budgeting and Change of Circumstances.
4. The tables include the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in August 2023.
5. Households could have more than one deduction type so adding claims by deduction type may not sum to the total.
6. The 'other' category in table 1 includes households with a deduction, where the deduction type is not the following: universal credit advances, DWP non-fraud overpayments, tax credit overpayments. The median given is of the sum of all 'other' deductions for each household.
7. It is not possible to separate UC overpayments from other DWP non-fraud overpayments.
8. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 implications for his policies of rent-to-rent schemes.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have worked with stakeholders representing both tenants and landlords to ensure our reforms deliver a fairer and more secure private rented sector, which includes the necessary provisions for the rent-to-rent 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: 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: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of households in the private rented sector in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment; how many and what proportion of those households have rents which exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median average gap is between the rent and the LHA for those households where rent exceeds the LHA, for each local authority area in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales for the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested if not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead, it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in the private rented sector are in receipt of housing benefit; how many and what proportion of those households have rents that exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median difference was between the cost of rent and the LHA for households where rent exceeds the LHA in each local authority area in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested if not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead, it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12040 on Universal Credit, if she will extend data sharing to include the details of (a) addresses receiving housing allowance and (b) people receiving that allowance living in private rented accommodation to local authorities with selective licencing schemes.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP already shares UC data with Local Authorities for various reasons where we have legal powers and a legal basis to do so and where the sharing can be done in compliance with all other UK GDPR requirements.
DWP is committed to maximising the use of its data, where it is appropriate and legal to do so to meet the primary objectives of:
- reducing fraud and error
- creating the right incentives to get more people into work
- protecting the most vulnerable in our society and
- delivering fairness to those claiming benefit and to the taxpayer
DWP works closely with DLUHC on housing quality, whilst in principle we are willing to consider whether UC data could be shared with Local Authorities for selective licensing purposes or other Private Rented Sector enforcement measures, we would need to see a detailed proposal and would make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of private rented homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are investing £6.6 billion this Parliament and a further £6 billion to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer. That is in addition to the £5 billion that will be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026. All of our ‘Help to Heat’ schemes are available to eligible households in the private rented sector
We have also improved our information and guidance for those households who want to make energy efficiency upgrades to their property through our digital assist service: www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency. This has also introduced two eligibility checkers to help landlords and tenants understand the measures available to them.