Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
protect renters in the private sector who are seeking help with
energy-saving improvements from eviction.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Levelling Up, Housing & Communities () (Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to ending Section 21
no-fault evictions. We introduced the Renters (Reform) Bill in
the other place to do this. Without the fear of retaliatory
eviction, once Section 21 is abolished, tenants will be more
empowered to act within their legal rights, complain about
unacceptable standards and seek improvements. Private rented
properties should be warm and decent, and we have several schemes
to support energy-saving improvements to provide this.
(LD)
Does the Minister agree that the balance is wrong if, according
to a report by Generation Rent, nearly 40% of fuel-poor
households rent privately but only 14% of energy company
obligation grants help them in any way? Will the Minister ensure
that the Renters (Reform) Bill protects tenants from either
eviction or prohibitive rent rises if they get these grants? That
is surely urgent, and important above other tenures.
(Con)
I agree. I looked at the figures showing where private renters
were utilising the Government’s grants for energy efficiency in
their homes, and I think we should be spending more time trying
to improve take-up. The Renters (Reform) Bill is important
because it will deliver a fairer, more secure and higher-quality
private rented sector. It will deliver the Government’s
commitments to a better deal for renters, as well as for
landlords, by improving the system for responsible tenants and
the good-faith landlords who are in the majority.
of Ullock (Lab)
My Lords, many families are paying the price in higher energy
bills because of the failure to improve the energy efficiency of
homes. Cold homes could also have a serious impact on public
health, given that 4% of UK homes have a serious damp problem and
17.5% of the UK’s population has been diagnosed with a form of
asthma. Has the department carried out any assessment of the
savings which could be made to the long-term NHS budget by
increasing the energy efficiency of UK homes? The Minister may
need to write to me on this.
(Con)
I do not have that information with me but I will certainly look
at it and write to the noble Baroness. However, the Government
are investing £12 billion in Help to Heat schemes. As I said to
the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, it is sad that not enough
private rental landlords are taking up those grants. We also have
the ECO Plus scheme—the GB insulation scheme—for which both
tenants and landlords can apply. In the energy security strategy,
the Government have just announced zero-rated VAT for the next
five years on the installation of insulation and low-carbon
heating. It is important that landlords know what is available
and that tenants ask them for it.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome what my noble friend said on the Renters
(Reform) Bill, but what action is being taken to address the
delays in the courts that are asked to process cases relating to
tenancies?
(Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right about the court system: it is
too slow. On difficult cases that escalate to the courts—not
all of them do—we are working with the judiciary, the Ministry of
Justice and HMCTS to target areas that frustrate proceedings,
including through digitising more of the court process to make it
simpler and easier for landlords to use.
(LD)
My Lords, the system is just not working. It relies on the tenant
applying for a fuel poverty grant and, as is clear from the
statistics that my noble friend just gave, that simply is not
working. These perverse incentives are working against each other
and not helping the poorest in society. Are there any plans to
review this, because it is so obviously not working? What did the
Minister make of the Secretary of State’s remarks that he wants
to relax the pace of energy-efficiency standards in the private
rented sector, given that it has the fewest decent homes?
(Con)
We are still committed to raising efficiency from band E to C by
2028 and will keep the fuel poverty grant under review. I think
the important issue, as I said in response to the noble Baroness,
Lady Grender, is the grants that will make private rented
properties more energy efficient in the first place.
