To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Government will publish its proposals for licensing of houses in multiple occupation for England and Wales. [78857]
I will publish tomorrow, on 25 March, a consultation paper setting out the Government's proposals for licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England. The Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones), will be publishing a similar paper for Wales.HMOs can be home to some of the most vulnerable in our society, but are often squalid, poorly maintained and potential deathtraps. Our licensing proposals will raise standards and improve safety in HMOs, but without reducing the supply of rented accommodation.Copies of the consultation papers will be placed in the Library of the House and will be available from the Vote Office.
| Net receipts 1 (£ million) | |||||
| Price band (£000) 60–2503 | Price band (£000) 250–500 | Price band (£000) over 500 | Price band (£000) Total | Proportion of total (%)2 | |
| 1997–98 | |||||
| Rate of stamp duty | 1% | 1.5% | 2.0% | — | — |
| Residential transactions | 695 | 100 | 80 | 875 | 60 |
| Commercial property and land transactions | 125 | 40 | 455 | 620 | 40 |
| Total | 820 | 140 | 535 | 1,495 | 100 |
| 1998–99 (provisional) | |||||
| Rate of stamp duty4 | 1% | 2.0% | 3.0% | — | — |
| Residential transactions | 700 | 245 | 215 | 1,160 | 55 |
| Commercial property and land transactions | 40 | 65 | 825 | 930 | 45 |
| Total | 740 | 310 | 1,040 | 2,090 | 100 |