§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement on the role of the rent officer under the Housing Act 1988;
(2) what guidance is given on the criteria by which the rent officers will decide market rents.
§ Mr. TrippierUnder the draft orders laid before Parliament last month, rent officers would, from 1 April, have the function of assessing whether the rents paid by housing benefit claimants in the deregulated private rented sector are reasonable for housing benefit subsidy purposes, and whether claimants are occupying over-large accommodation. The draft orders specify the criteria to be applied. Rent officers will be required to compare the rent paid by a benefit claimant with the rents paid in the open market by tenants who are not receiving benefit.