§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about landlords passing on council tax charges to their tenants.
§ Mr. Robin SquireWe have received 83 representations about landlords passing on council tax charges to their tenants. Thirty three of these were in direct response to a consultation letter issued on 5 January 1993 on proposals to amend the landlord and tenant legislation to cater for the situation where the landlord, rather than the tenant, is liable for the tax.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to the rent officer service about determining rents in cases where landlords have been found to be passing council tax costs on to their tenants.
§ Mr. Robin SquireRent officers are independent of Government and neither Ministers nor officials are able to advise them about determining rents. In making their assessments of fair rents rent officers follow the requirements of the Rent Act 1977. These provisions have been amended to allow for the liability for council tax to be taken into account where appropriate. Rent officers also assess market rents for housing benefit subsidy purposes under the Rent Officer (Additional Functions) Order 1990. Again, these assessments will now take account of council tax where appropriate. The Department has issued procedural guidance notes to rent officers to alert them to these changes, copies of which have been placed in the Library today. In addition, the Institute of Rent Officers has issued a practice note to its members, copies of which are also available in the Library.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is(a) the average rent level determined by the rent officer service in each region and (b) the average council tax bill in each region.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe regional figures on rent levels determined by the rent officer service in the fourth quarter of 1992, the latest period for which figures are available, are given in table 1.3 of the "Rent Officer Statistics—Fourth Quarter" publication, copies of which are available in the Library.
The average council tax by region is as follows: 323W
Average Council Tax per dwelling £ Northern 445 North West 464 Yorkshire and Humberside 423 East Midlands 416 West Midlands 439 East Anglia 397 South East 477 London 494 South West 458 England 456
Authority 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) Corby 4,714 89 10,652 95 13,293 89 9,445 95 Daventry 2,607 94 3,639 97 8,246 89 5,194 94 East Northamptonshire 7,882 94 11,138 94 7,309 87 4,652 91 Kettering 10,131 93 9,722 90 8,509 90 7,809 95 Northampton 5,558 89 n/a — 10,208 94 20,144 89 South Northamptonshire n/a — n/a — 2,793 83 3,540 92 Wellingborough n/a — n/a — 10,725 91 9,198 96 Notes:
(a)= total claims received
(b)= Percentage of claims allowed
n/a = Not available
Information for 1987–88 is not available
Source: Housing Benefit Management Information System