Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Florence Eshalomi (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Sleeping Rough

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of private rents on rough sleeping.

Answer: Poverty, housing availability and affordability are the root causes of homelessness and rough sleeping. In addition, people who sleep rough are more likely to have complex and overlapping support needs. The National Plan to End Homelessness acknowledges that many people on low incomes struggle to afford rising rents in an increasingly insecure private rental market. As well as abolishing Section 21 'no fault' evictions, our Renters’ Rights Act has empowered private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, outlawed rental bidding and ended the practice of landlords demanding large amounts of rent in advance from tenants looking to secure a tenancy.

Secondary information