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Private Rented Housing

Asked by Carla DenyerGreen PartyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 4 April 2025UIN 41989

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.62 of the Office for Budget Responsibility Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, CP 1289, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the estimated increase in the housing stock on private rents.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook

The factors affecting affordability in the private rented sector are complex and difficult to disentangle. As well as the size of the total housing stock, they include the movement of tenants into homeownership and social rented housing, house prices, taxation policy, and interest rates.

While it is difficult to isolate the specific impact of each of these factors, the government recognises that boosting supply is critical to improving housing affordability. This is why we are committed to achieving our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament.

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