:00:14. > :00:21.I begged to leave that the landlord and tenant reform bill be changed to
:00:22. > :00:23.make provision for the regulation of landlords in private rented
:00:24. > :00:34.accommodation to extend tenants' writes particular the in the sale of
:00:35. > :00:39.occupied rented property, to prevent fees to allow private landlords in
:00:40. > :00:42.Greater London and for connected purposes. Madam deputies eager, it
:00:43. > :00:47.is no exaggeration to see that we have a national emergency and
:00:48. > :00:52.housing. It is unacceptable that in 2016 millions of people still stop
:00:53. > :00:55.daily from her housing and live in fear and desperation without a
:00:56. > :00:59.secure, affordable place to call home. This fear is tearing
:01:00. > :01:03.communities apart and risks further devising our country between a very
:01:04. > :01:07.well-off minority and the rest of us. We have soaring house prices
:01:08. > :01:12.were the average cost of a two-bedroom house in London is now
:01:13. > :01:17.out of reach of more than 80% of people. A rental sector in which to
:01:18. > :01:22.many people on low and middle incomes are spending around two
:01:23. > :01:25.fifths of their salaries and housing, something confirmed by the
:01:26. > :01:27.Evening Standard in a report yesterday and often suffer at the
:01:28. > :01:42.hands of rogue landlords. Over the last decade, London's
:01:43. > :01:49.rental sector has doubled in size. There are over 1 million private
:01:50. > :01:54.sector rented properties. For many people, living in the private rented
:01:55. > :01:57.sector works well with short-term tenancy agreements offering them
:01:58. > :02:02.flexibility to move home quickly for new jobs or career opportunities and
:02:03. > :02:06.many private landlords are responsible, carrying out repairs in
:02:07. > :02:10.a timely manner and returning deposits promptly but for many
:02:11. > :02:14.others the sector has become a last resort rather than a housing
:02:15. > :02:19.destination of choice. There have been huge demographic changes in the
:02:20. > :02:26.sector in recent years with an increasing number of families and
:02:27. > :02:31.low income households living in the sector but conditions remained poor
:02:32. > :02:42.with one third of homes not meeting government standards and over 60% of
:02:43. > :02:49.people renting experiencing poor living quality or hazards according
:02:50. > :02:54.to Shelter. Last week I met a woman who, soon after she started
:02:55. > :02:59.describing the conditions in her property, broke down in tears. She
:03:00. > :03:04.and her son could no longer face waking up to live or dead rodents.
:03:05. > :03:09.The landlord was trying to help but the quality of housing stock makes
:03:10. > :03:15.it ever got for them to stop rodents getting into the property. Another
:03:16. > :03:20.woman came to see me with her mother and the landlord was refusing to
:03:21. > :03:25.sort out their problems while putting pressure on them to leave
:03:26. > :03:33.their flat. I'm sure every member of Parliament will be familiar with
:03:34. > :03:41.these cases. I support the measures put forward to overhaul the private
:03:42. > :03:44.rented sector. Whilst the exact number of rogue landlords operating
:03:45. > :03:51.in the sector remains unknown, there is a growing sense that the problem
:03:52. > :04:04.is worse is demand for housing and rental profits increases. As a
:04:05. > :04:08.survey of local authority enforcement in the private rental
:04:09. > :04:12.sector carried out in March by my Lib Dem colleagues shows, the
:04:13. > :04:18.enforcement of standards in the private rental sector by local
:04:19. > :04:25.authorities is highly variable. With recent budget cuts diminishing
:04:26. > :04:27.resources to councils to tackle landlords with poor living
:04:28. > :04:33.conditions, the patchwork of enforcement has left thousands of
:04:34. > :04:42.people at the mercy of rogue landlords. Much of this lies with
:04:43. > :04:47.the enforcement. Tougher enforcement is welcome. Unfortunately,
:04:48. > :04:53.enforcement and inspection is weak. A third of councils in London, Ken
:04:54. > :05:04.Burrows, failed to prosecute a single landlord for on site
:05:05. > :05:07.accommodation in 2014/ 15. There is a significant variation in the level
:05:08. > :05:13.of enforcement activity, with some councils inspecting one in 14
:05:14. > :05:19.private rented properties for hazards and others around one in
:05:20. > :05:23.500. The private rented sector may have met the needs of tenants in
:05:24. > :05:29.years gone by that the profile of renters and length of tenancy has
:05:30. > :05:33.changed dramatically recently. If some landlords are to lose their
:05:34. > :05:39.wild West reputation, it is clear proper enforcement is required. This
:05:40. > :05:43.is a set out in the plans I will refer to which would reform the
:05:44. > :05:47.private rented sector. My goal would seek to implement these. All
:05:48. > :05:53.landlords in London should be registered, making it easier to
:05:54. > :05:57.identify the scale and trends in the private rented sector and to ensure
:05:58. > :06:05.landlords can be traced easily. Also to crackdown on rogue landlords with
:06:06. > :06:10.a licensing scheme, the Government should introduce a licensing scheme
:06:11. > :06:13.with the aim of professionalising the sector and removing rogue
:06:14. > :06:19.landlords from the market. This proposal will not be welcomed by all
:06:20. > :06:25.landlords but some accept a limited role for licensing in some areas of
:06:26. > :06:28.London and some circumstances. Scrap unfair agencies for renters. Moving
:06:29. > :06:35.from one rented home to another can be very expensive with high letting
:06:36. > :06:40.fees and deposit requirements. I am told agents try to poach landlords
:06:41. > :06:47.from each other to secure the fees which are triggered on a change of
:06:48. > :06:54.tenancy, and they dangle the prospect of higher rents in front of
:06:55. > :07:00.the would-be landlord. In Sutton, a quick check suggests fees of around
:07:01. > :07:07.400 - 500 pounds when signing up a new tenant and when that is added to
:07:08. > :07:11.the six-week deposit which would currently be approximately ?1500 for
:07:12. > :07:18.a two-bedroom flat, that is a total of ?200 up front a tenant would need
:07:19. > :07:21.to find. To give renters extra right-wing landlords sell up and
:07:22. > :07:25.requirement for tenants to be given first refusal to buy the home they
:07:26. > :07:30.are renting should the landlord decides to sell during a tenancy.
:07:31. > :07:38.Finally, give councils that power to manage private rentals, allowing
:07:39. > :07:41.councils to develop, on and manage rented homes outside of the housing
:07:42. > :07:45.revenue accounts to improve the quality of homes in the sector with
:07:46. > :07:48.the freedom to offer a long-term tenancies and also call on the
:07:49. > :07:57.Government to work with private landlords, mortgage companies and
:07:58. > :07:59.such to offer longer tenancies because quite often it is the
:08:00. > :08:05.mortgage holders standing in the way. I think this would make a real
:08:06. > :08:10.difference. Madam Deputy is bigger, neither I nor Caroline Pidgeon claim
:08:11. > :08:15.these are a silver bullet to solve the problems but the fundamental
:08:16. > :08:20.problem is a lack of supply of affordable homes, which is now
:08:21. > :08:24.closer to a solution given that fewer than 500 affordable homes were
:08:25. > :08:31.built in London last year, the lowest figure since the election of
:08:32. > :08:34.the Mayor of London in 2008 but we believe these proposals will improve
:08:35. > :08:42.the lot of private renters, some of whom suffer unsafe properties with
:08:43. > :08:47.the threat of retaliation every time they ask for a repairer. This must
:08:48. > :09:00.stop. I urge this House to support this bill. The question is that the
:09:01. > :09:38.right now a member have leave to bring in the deal. ?
:09:39. > :09:44.Landlord and tenant reform Bill. Second reading what they? Friday the
:09:45. > :10:11.13th of May. Friday the 13th of May. The phrases originally said to refer
:10:12. > :10:15.to a small private room and now it is simply two words to describe the
:10:16. > :10:16.people at the very top