01/05/2016 Ten Minute Rule Bill


01/05/2016

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I begged to leave that the landlord and tenant reform bill be changed to

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make provision for the regulation of landlords in private rented

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accommodation to extend tenants' writes particular the in the sale of

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occupied rented property, to prevent fees to allow private landlords in

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Greater London and for connected purposes. Madam deputies eager, it

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is no exaggeration to see that we have a national emergency and

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housing. It is unacceptable that in 2016 millions of people still stop

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daily from her housing and live in fear and desperation without a

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secure, affordable place to call home. This fear is tearing

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communities apart and risks further devising our country between a very

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well-off minority and the rest of us. We have soaring house prices

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were the average cost of a two-bedroom house in London is now

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out of reach of more than 80% of people. A rental sector in which to

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many people on low and middle incomes are spending around two

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fifths of their salaries and housing, something confirmed by the

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Evening Standard in a report yesterday and often suffer at the

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hands of rogue landlords. Over the last decade, London's

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rental sector has doubled in size. There are over 1 million private

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sector rented properties. For many people, living in the private rented

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sector works well with short-term tenancy agreements offering them

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flexibility to move home quickly for new jobs or career opportunities and

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many private landlords are responsible, carrying out repairs in

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a timely manner and returning deposits promptly but for many

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others the sector has become a last resort rather than a housing

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destination of choice. There have been huge demographic changes in the

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sector in recent years with an increasing number of families and

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low income households living in the sector but conditions remained poor

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with one third of homes not meeting government standards and over 60% of

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people renting experiencing poor living quality or hazards according

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to Shelter. Last week I met a woman who, soon after she started

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describing the conditions in her property, broke down in tears. She

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and her son could no longer face waking up to live or dead rodents.

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The landlord was trying to help but the quality of housing stock makes

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it ever got for them to stop rodents getting into the property. Another

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woman came to see me with her mother and the landlord was refusing to

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sort out their problems while putting pressure on them to leave

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their flat. I'm sure every member of Parliament will be familiar with

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these cases. I support the measures put forward to overhaul the private

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rented sector. Whilst the exact number of rogue landlords operating

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in the sector remains unknown, there is a growing sense that the problem

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is worse is demand for housing and rental profits increases. As a

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survey of local authority enforcement in the private rental

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sector carried out in March by my Lib Dem colleagues shows, the

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enforcement of standards in the private rental sector by local

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authorities is highly variable. With recent budget cuts diminishing

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resources to councils to tackle landlords with poor living

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conditions, the patchwork of enforcement has left thousands of

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people at the mercy of rogue landlords. Much of this lies with

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the enforcement. Tougher enforcement is welcome. Unfortunately,

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enforcement and inspection is weak. A third of councils in London, Ken

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Burrows, failed to prosecute a single landlord for on site

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accommodation in 2014/ 15. There is a significant variation in the level

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of enforcement activity, with some councils inspecting one in 14

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private rented properties for hazards and others around one in

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500. The private rented sector may have met the needs of tenants in

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years gone by that the profile of renters and length of tenancy has

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changed dramatically recently. If some landlords are to lose their

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wild West reputation, it is clear proper enforcement is required. This

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is a set out in the plans I will refer to which would reform the

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private rented sector. My goal would seek to implement these. All

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landlords in London should be registered, making it easier to

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identify the scale and trends in the private rented sector and to ensure

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landlords can be traced easily. Also to crackdown on rogue landlords with

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a licensing scheme, the Government should introduce a licensing scheme

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with the aim of professionalising the sector and removing rogue

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landlords from the market. This proposal will not be welcomed by all

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landlords but some accept a limited role for licensing in some areas of

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London and some circumstances. Scrap unfair agencies for renters. Moving

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from one rented home to another can be very expensive with high letting

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fees and deposit requirements. I am told agents try to poach landlords

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from each other to secure the fees which are triggered on a change of

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tenancy, and they dangle the prospect of higher rents in front of

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the would-be landlord. In Sutton, a quick check suggests fees of around

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400 - 500 pounds when signing up a new tenant and when that is added to

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the six-week deposit which would currently be approximately ?1500 for

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a two-bedroom flat, that is a total of ?200 up front a tenant would need

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to find. To give renters extra right-wing landlords sell up and

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requirement for tenants to be given first refusal to buy the home they

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are renting should the landlord decides to sell during a tenancy.

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Finally, give councils that power to manage private rentals, allowing

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councils to develop, on and manage rented homes outside of the housing

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revenue accounts to improve the quality of homes in the sector with

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the freedom to offer a long-term tenancies and also call on the

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Government to work with private landlords, mortgage companies and

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such to offer longer tenancies because quite often it is the

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mortgage holders standing in the way. I think this would make a real

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difference. Madam Deputy is bigger, neither I nor Caroline Pidgeon claim

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these are a silver bullet to solve the problems but the fundamental

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problem is a lack of supply of affordable homes, which is now

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closer to a solution given that fewer than 500 affordable homes were

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built in London last year, the lowest figure since the election of

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the Mayor of London in 2008 but we believe these proposals will improve

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the lot of private renters, some of whom suffer unsafe properties with

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the threat of retaliation every time they ask for a repairer. This must

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stop. I urge this House to support this bill. The question is that the

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right now a member have leave to bring in the deal. ?

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Landlord and tenant reform Bill. Second reading what they? Friday the

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13th of May. Friday the 13th of May. The phrases originally said to refer

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to a small private room and now it is simply two words to describe the

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people at the very top

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