Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central Sarah Teather has announced she is going to table a Private Members’ Bill to stop “retaliatory evictions”.
Tenants’ campaign groups have coined the phrase “retaliatory evictions” for when a landlord issues a section 21 notice to end the tenancy of a tenant who has made a complaint or asked for repairs to the property.
Housing charity Shelter claims 213,000 people a year are evicted or served with an eviction notice after complaining to their landlord about a problem that was not their responsibility. It says 12% of tenants have not asked for repairs because they fear eviction.
Every year, backbench MPs can enter what’s known as the Private Members’ Ballot. Sarah Teather was one of 20 MPs selected in this year’s ballot, which took place earlier this month.
Her Bill would stop retaliatory evictions which she claims are a particular problem in Brent. There are 33,000 private rented properties in the borough, and Sarah’s constituency of Brent Central has one of the highest numbers of private renters in the country.
Teather said: “It’s completely wrong that some rogue landlords evict tenants simply because they ask for repairs to be carried out.
“Everyone should have somewhere comfortable and safe to live. But all too often, tenants put up with things like damp, dangerous electrical fittings and mould because they are too scared to complain.
“This bill could make a real difference to 1.3 million renting families in England. I hope my colleagues in Parliament get behind it and turn it into law.”
Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive, said: “This Bill is a fantastic opportunity to put an end to unfair evictions, and we’re thrilled that alongside Sarah Teather, politicians from all parties are committed to this.
“No one should have to live in a home that is a danger to their health and well-being, let alone live with the fear of being thrown out if they complain to their landlord.
“With over 200,000 people having faced unfair evictions in the last year alone, it’s great that politicians are starting to take a stand for England’s nine million renters.”
But landlords shouldn’t be over-concerned that the Bill will become law - Private Members’ Bills rarely make it on to the statute books.
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Comments
@ Tim Boston
Spton on excellent post
@GB
Landlord Rights close to your heart? How about Landlord responsibilities and above all, legal obligations?
Landlords do need to be careful any tenant who feels they have been the 'victim' of a retaliatory eviction has plenty of time to go HHSRS before they leave
Why do these people keep jumping on the band wagon of landlord bashing, and not work out constructively what to do through consulting with the experts.....the accredited landlords and their associations, rather than the lobbyists and ranters who have their own agendas. Why do they not get it that to have a PRS you need landlords and they need the right to control their own property or they will cease to invest. Education of both tenant and landlord is what is needed.
As we in Southend are trying to work out what legislation to use, could those who know what exactly the legislation is please list it for all our use.
Who owns the bloomin' property? It is the landlords right to evict a problem tenant. I would suggest that the vast majority of landlords would not resort to 'retaliatory evictions' over minor issues as the cost in finding a new tenant does not justify it.
It is getting to the point where landlords will start to pull out altogether.
Who will house the millions of tenants then?
Maybe if retaliatory evictions triggered a HHSRS inspection and the council followed through on Statutory improvement notices etc and fast-track enforcement then something mighr be done to sort out poor quality (or worse) rental properties.
It is council inaction in the past that has created an environment where rogue landlords feel they can operate with impunity. There is all the legislation in place to take these to task - it is the manpower and enforcement budgets that are lacking. Wringing hands over bad housing and retaliatory eviction is all very well but yet another piece of legislation that will rarely be used is pointless.
A zero tolerance approach is needed but this will require councils to commit meaningful amounts of money to do so because no Selective Licensing scheme will be able to fund such approaches as the money for SL can only be spent of the licensed properties. Money will also need to be spent on advertising and public education that will encourage tenants to "dob in" poor landlords + warn bad landlords that the council is on their case to make the system work.
shes so popular locally that she is standing down next year
Typical liberal comment, totally out of touch with reality