asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it is his intention that rents paid by tenants occupying accommodation under Her Majesty's Government's new provisions for a form of shorthold tenancy shall not be taken into account when determining fair rents for existing tenants protected under the Rent Acts.

Fair rents for shorthold tenancies will be fixed on the same statutory basis as those for other regulated tenancies, and it will be for the rent officer to assess the fair rent for any given short-hold or other regulated tenancy according to the provisions of section 70 of the Rent Act 1977.