§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those registered social landlords in the London Borough of Greenwich who have imposed rent increases over the rate of inflation in the last two years. [141650]
§ Mr. MullinTwenty registered social landlords (RSLs) owned stock in Greenwich in both 1998 and March 2000. The percentage increase in average rent in March 2000 compared with March 1998 was higher than the rate of inflation over that period for eight of these RSLs. They were:
- South London Family
- Broomleigh
- Hyde
- Family
- London and Quadrant
- Servite
- English Churches
- Anchor Trust.
Comparisons of rent levels in March 1998 and March 2000 for these RSLs may not be on a like-for-like basis because of acquisitions or disposals of stock during that period.
§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many appeals have been made against rent increases approved by the rent officers in each of the last four years; and how many have resulted in a higher rent being imposed for(a) private landlords and (b) registered social landlords. [141651]
§ Mr. MullinConsistent information on the number of appeals (in England) against rent officer fair rent decisions is available from 1996–97, as follows:
Year Number 1996–97 7,653 1997–98 6,265 1998–99 7,754 Data for 1999–2000 are not yet available.
The results of these appeals (the percentage of appeals that lead to lower, unchanged and higher rents) are published in "Rent Officer Statistics" but without a separate split by private landlords and registered social 196W landlords. Analysis of the 1998–99 appeals against fair rents shows the following figures:
Private landlords Registered social landlords Percentage of appeals resulting in: Lower rent 11 13 Unchanged rent 29 16 Higher rent 60 71
§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reasons have been given by rent officers in the London Borough of Greenwich for approving rent increases for tenants of registered social landlords above the level of inflation. [141652]
§ Mr. MullinRent officers are required to determine rents for properties with a registered fair rent in accordance with the rules set out in the Rent Act 1977. This requires them to take into account a number of criteria including age of dwelling, its state of repair, character and locality but to disregard any premium resulting from a scarcity of similar accommodation in the area.
In addition, on 1 February 1999, the Government introduced the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999 which had the effect of limiting most fair rent increases to RPI plus 7.5 per cent. or RPI plus 5 per cent. The Order was quashed in a judgment of the Court of Appeal in January but was declared lawful in a judgment by the House of Lords on 7 December. The effect of the judgment is that the Order has been in force continuously since 1 February 1999 and all applications for registered fair rents since then must comply with it.
§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the(a) rent increases for each registered social landlord in the London Borough of Greenwich that were applied for in the last two years; and (b) increases that were approved by the rent officers. [141654]
§ Mr. MullinRegistered social landlords (RSLs) only apply to rent officers for approval in "fair rent" cases. Figures on applications by individual RSLs for registered fair rents are not held centrally.
§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the average rent increase for tenants of registered social landlords in the last two years(a) in the London borough of Greenwich, (b) in London and (c) nationally. [141653]
§ Mr. MullinThe average rent increase for tenants of registered social landlords between March 1998 and March 2000 was as follows:
Percentage Greenwich 3.7 London 7.9 England 6.6