Call for Evidence

The Committee welcomes evidence submissions on the terms of reference outlined below. The closing date for submissions is 23 August 2022.

In particular, the inquiry seeks answers to the following questions:

• Will the Government’s White Paper proposals result in a fairer private rented sector (PRS)?

• What do the proposals in the White Paper and other recent reforms indicate about the role the Government envisages the PRS playing in providing housing nationally?

• Have the Government’s announcements already led to any changes in behaviour in the PRS?

• Do the proposals for reforming tenancies, including the abolition of Section 21, strike the right balance between protecting tenants from unfair eviction and allowing landlords to take possession of their properties in reasonable circumstances?

• How easily will tenants be able to challenge unfair rent increases under the proposals?

• Does the PRS need its own ombudsman? If so, what powers should it have?

• Will the proposals result in more disputes ending up in the courts? If so, will the proposals for speeding up the courts service suffice?

• What impact, if any, will the reforms have on the supply of students homes in the general PRS?

• What impact, if any, will the reforms have on the supply of homes in the PRS?

• What should be included in the new decent homes standard and how easily could it be enforced?

• How enforceable are the proposals to make it illegal for landlords to have blanket bans on letting to people on benefits or with children? What other groups, if any, should be protected from blanket bans?

• Overall, what additional pressures will the proposals place on local councils, and how many of these will require new burdens funding?

Submissions should not be longer than 3000 words where possible.

We want our inquiries to be informed by a diverse range of voices. Our committee team are happy to help if you require a reasonable adjustment, such as an extension to the deadline, or submitting evidence in an alternative format: please get in touch at luhccom@parliament.uk.

Please note: The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee examines policy issues relating to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and its associated bodies. In line with the general practice of select committees the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee is not able to take up individual cases. If you would like political support or advice you may wish to contact your local Member of Parliament.

Written evidence must address the terms of reference as set out above, but please note that submissions do not have to address every point. Guidance on giving evidence to a select committee of the House of Commons is available here.

The Committee will decide whether to accept each submission. If your submission is accepted by the Committee, it will usually be published online. It will then be available permanently for anyone to view. It can’t be changed or removed. If you have included your name or any personal information in your submission, that will normally be published too. Please consider how much personal information you want or need to share. If you include personal information about other people in your submission, the Committee may decide not to publish it. Your contact details will never be published.

Decisions about publishing evidence anonymously, or about accepting but not publishing evidence, are made by the Committee. If you would like to ask the Committee to accept your submission anonymously (meaning it will be published but without your name), or confidentially (meaning it won't be published at all), please indicate this when submitting evidence, and tell us why. This lets the Committee know what you would like but the final decision will be taken by the Committee.

The Committee has discretion over which submissions it accepts as evidence, and which of those it then publishes on its website. We may anonymise or redact some of your submission if it is published. The Committee may decide to accept evidence on a confidential basis. Confidential submissions remain available to the Committee but are not published or referred to in public. All written evidence will be considered by the Committee, whether or not it is published.