However, most conditions of the arrangement are a matter for the agreement. It is estimated that there are 200,000 permanent residents of park homes. Mostly they are retired people, living alone or as part of a couple. Roles of rent officers and the Rent Service A third of private tenancies in England are supported with Housing Benefit. The calculation by local authorities of how much is payable in each case will partly depend on rent determinations made by a rent officer.
Officers also assess fair rents for regulated tenancies.
They now carry out these functions under the auspices of the Rent Service, which was created as an Executive Agency of the Department in October 1999, from 77 independent, local authority-based units. It is hoped that the Agency will help secure greater consistency and transparency in carrying out rental determinations. Current Government activity related to the private rented sector General The Housing Green Paper was published in April 2000. This outlines what actions DETR is currently undertaking, as well as possibilities for future measures, e.g. to improve the Housing Benefit system or tackle anti-social behaviour. For the purposes of licensing, this generally means houses comprising bedsits and larger shared houses.