To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to local authorities who have seen recent increases in the number of homes in multiple occupancy to help pay for local services.

Over the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20 councils will have access to more than £200 billion of non-ring fenced revenue funding, and it is for local authorities to determine how to spend this and other sources of income on the services that they provide.

Local authorities already have powers through the planning system to control the proliferation of houses in multiple occupancy if they have concerns about the cumulative impact on their locality. From October we are extending mandatory licensing to protect more private tenants from poor housing conditions and overcrowding in houses of multiple occupation. Councils will be able to charge for the costs of administering this scheme.