I assure the noble Baroness that those discussions are already ongoing. The department is in intense discussions with that sector, and has been since the introduction of the Bill in the other place.
Regarding MoD accommodation, as a result of discussions in the other place we are looking to apply the decent homes standard to homes for service personnel and their families. Service personnel and their families deserve homes that are safe and decent, just like everybody else. While 96% of service family accommodation already meets the decent homes standard, it is right that we explore whether we can put in further safeguards on housing quality for this sector. However, there are features in service accommodation that mean that we must consider carefully the approach that will work best in practice. This includes the fact that significant proportions of this accommodation are located on secure military sites. The department is therefore working closely with the Ministry of Defence and local authorities to urgently explore these matters and work out how this can be done.
The noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, and others raised local authority funding. We are fully aware that local authorities need to prioritise taking enforcement action against criminal landlords and that it is essential to the effective implementation of the reforms. We are taking steps to facilitate and resource action against landlords who flout the rules. The new property portal will support local authorities in their enforcement action. It will provide information sources to enable local authorities to take action, and we are extending ring-fenced penalties to support a “polluter pays” approach. We will also ensure that net additional costs that may fall on local authorities are fully funded, and we have already taken action to support local authorities now. Our pathfinder programme has allocated £14 million to test innovative ways to create sustainable enforcement teams that can be shared across all local authorities. In addition, our healthy homes project provides funding for local authorities to test ways of increasing the compliance of landlords in tackling damp and mould.
On pet notice periods, while I appreciate that tenants will want their requests answered as quickly as possible, 28 days seems to be too short, following discussions. A landlord could be on holiday or there may be other reasons why they have not responded within a 28-day period. Therefore, we suggest that 48 days gives reasonable time for landlords but prevents them delaying indefinitely.
Regarding affordability, the local housing allowance and rent increases, some noble Lords rightly highlighted concerns about the affordability of housing; others
expressed their concern about being able to charge market rates—I will try to try cover both of those points. We recognise the cost of living pressures that tenants face and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Government are investing £1.2 billion in restoring local housing allowances, and raising them, and that significant investment means many of these low-income households will gain a significant amount of money to help them towards their rental costs. For those most in need, discretionary housing payments are available to help meet housing costs, and the household support fund has been extended to March 2024 to help with the cost of essentials. I will check those dates for the House—I just said March 2024 and we are beyond that, so I will check and make sure we correct it.