§ Ms BlearsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Government will publish its proposals for licensing of houses in multiple occupation for England and Wales. [78857]
§ Ms ArmstrongI will publish tomorrow, on 25 March, a consultation paper setting out the Government's proposals for licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England. The Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones), will be publishing a similar paper for Wales.
HMOs can be home to some of the most vulnerable in our society, but are often squalid, poorly maintained and potential deathtraps. Our licensing proposals will raise standards and improve safety in HMOs, but without reducing the supply of rented accommodation.
Copies of the consultation papers will be placed in the Library of the House and will be available from the Vote Office.
Net receipts 1 (£ million) Price band (£000) 60–2503 Price band (£000) 250–500 Price band (£000) over 500 Price band (£000) Total Proportion of total (%) 2 1997–98 Rate of stamp duty 1% 1.5% 2.0% — — Residential transactions 695 100 80 875 60 Commercial property and land transactions 125 40 455 620 40 Total 820 140 535 1,495 100 1998–99 (provisional) Rate of stamp duty4 1% 2.0% 3.0% — — Residential transactions 700 245 215 1,160 55 Commercial property and land transactions 40 65 825 930 45 Total 740 310 1,040 2,090 100