PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Private Rented Housing: Standards (30 October 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase the use of rent repayment orders to compensate tenants in the event that they are found to be living in sub-standard properties.

Asked by:
Apsana Begum (Independent)

Local authorities enforce standards in privately rented homes. If they identify health and safety hazards or poor conditions, they have strong powers to oblige landlords to remedy these. This includes powers to seek rent repayment orders for up to 12 months rent for legal breaches, including letting out substandard properties.

Rent repayment orders were extended through the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to cover a wide range of offences. If a local housing authority becomes aware that a landlord has been convicted of any of these offences, it must consider applying for a rent repayment order. Tenants are also able to submit a claim for a rent repayment order directly to the First-tier Tribunal.

Local housing authorities are required to develop and document their own policy on when to prosecute and when to apply for a rent repayment order and should decide each case independently. I have no plans to change this system.

Answered by:
Christopher Pincher (Independent)
4 November 2020