Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of the LGA. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Brown, on their eloquent maiden speeches. I am sure from these speeches that the breadth and depth of their experience will add greatly to the work of this House, and I look forward to working with them.

We support the objectives of the Bill and see it as a major step towards a safe, secure and affordable private rented sector. Having a home is something many of us take for granted—a place of refuge, security, comfort, safety and reassurance—yet for so many people, including large numbers of children, this is a far-off dream. In my own city of Bristol, 54% of people in the misery of temporary accommodation have dependent children. What kind of start in life is this for them?

The severe shortage of social rented dwellings means that more and more renters are now dependent on private rentals. Shelter reports that there has been a net loss of 24,000 social homes per year since 1991 through the right to buy and demolition. New build has replaced less than half of them. In the meantime, the private rented market has more than doubled since 1980, with unaffordable rents leaving renters struggling to make ends meet, with many ending up in debt and homelessness. As others have said, there is a desperate shortage of, and need for, social homes at affordable rents.

Most landlords fulfil their responsibilities and treat tenants with respect and consideration, but where exploitative and irresponsible landlords fail to comply with standards and conditions required, it is right that early enforcement powers to fine and sanction are provided in addition to legal redress, which may take much longer.

Many of the proposals in the Bill will be welcome to renters, but what is missing is any form of rent stabilisation. As we have heard from other noble Lords, the high rents in the private sector place a huge burden on renters—one-third of renters spend half or more of their income on rent. They are often intimidated from challenging increases by fear of eviction and being made homeless. Even with the banning of Section 21 evictions, landlords can still force eviction through rent hikes that tenants cannot afford. Without some form of rent control, tenants will still not be protected from summary eviction and the threat of homelessness.

Various ways of pegging rents have been mooted, such as to inflation, wage growth or the Bank of England base rate. There needs to be a framework which allows reasonable predictability for rent so that tenants can budget and not be priced out by rent hikes. Rent controls are well-established in European and other OECD countries. This is by a combination of local and national measures, and I hope that the Government will perhaps look at some of these as we progress with the Bill.

The Bill gives tenants the right to challenge unreasonable rent increases, but many tenants will feel unconfident or intimidated in challenging their landlord at a tribunal. So I hope that, through the process of the Bill, the Government will give some thought to measures for the stabilisation of rents.

The CAB tells us that one in four of the complaints it receives is about disrepair, damp, mould and excessive cold. Making the decent homes standard a legal requirement is essential. Renters often experience horrific conditions of disrepair, damp and even infestation with vermin, and they survive on a knife edge of insecurity with the constant fear of being forced into homelessness. I am sure that those of us who have been councillors who have already spoken in this debate are well aware of some of the dreadful conditions that people live in, with landlords who repeatedly fail to carry out effective repairs and maintenance work. The online database publishing information on private rented sector dwellings and landlords could be a very powerful enforcement tool, depending on what information is to be included about landlords’ records and the condition of dwellings.

However, bringing unfit properties up to standard may be costly, and effective enforcement will pose very serious challenges for cash-starved local authorities. Local authorities’ budgets have been cut to the bone and, if they are to enforce compliance, they will need the resources to do so. Tenants must be confident that the law will be enforced promptly and not be buried in lengthy bureaucracy. This will be essential for the success of this legislation, and the Government must give assurances that enforcement will be fully funded.

The banning of discrimination against benefit recipients will help people with disabilities who are on benefit. Evidence shows that people of colour are more likely to be in substandard accommodation and that black and Asian people are more likely to be denied the right to a safe and secure home. It will be essential for anti-discrimination measures to be rigorously enforced.

However, problems of accessibility remain. Private rented dwellings are often too small to allow a wheelchair or accessible bathrooms and kitchens. People are having to remain in hospital as the needs caused by injury or illness cannot be accommodated in their private rental property. Renters have had adaptations refused by landlords. Access rights are human rights for tenants, and they must be guaranteed in law, so I hope we will make some progress on this in Committee.

As my colleagues have said, Liberal Democrats also believe that accommodation for service personnel should comply with the same decent homes standard and that the accommodation of refugees and asylum seekers should be on the same principle, as in an amendment tabled by Liberal Democrat colleagues in the Commons.

We welcome the first steps that the Bill is taking to provide a fairer private rented sector, with clear rights and responsibilities, and with sanctions and redress for non-compliance. The private rented sector is the second-largest tenure in the UK, yet privately rented homes are the most insecure, most expensive and the lowest quality of any tenure. Reform is long overdue.

Women and Men: Pay Gap

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Wednesday 8th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I will talk to my colleagues in Health about that issue. I was not aware of it, but it is important and I will take it forward and come back to the right reverend Prelate.

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, research has shown that the gender pensions gap between men and women is 17% at the start of women’s careers and a staggering 56% at retirement. What are the Government doing to make sure that women get a fair deal on retirement and do not lose out because they have taken on caring responsibilities or other unpaid but valuable work?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

Measures have been put in place to improve the state pension outcomes for most women. More than 3 million women stand to receive an average of £550 more per year by 2030 as a result of the recent reforms. Under the new state pension, outcomes are projected to equalise for men and women by the early 2040s, more than a decade earlier than they would have under the old system, so I think we are on top of that issue.

Minister for Intergovernmental Relations

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Monday 18th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, there is no sign of disrespect when we call a Government a devolved Administration, but I am happy to call them devolved Governments in future if that is seen as more appropriate.

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, findings of the IPPR show that there are huge differences in regional economic performance and prosperity in the UK and that this is down largely to overcentralised and inflexible governance. Can the Minister assure us that the Government will devolve powers to local decision-makers as a key part of the levelling-up agenda and not allow this to be operated by the dead hand of Whitehall from London?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, the Government remain committed to devolution. On the levelling-up agenda and fund, it is quite clear that, where that money is spent in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we will have effective engagement and work closely with stakeholders to build on existing spending, using the economies of scale that we can achieve through expenditure at the United Kingdom level.

Housing: New Developments

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, at this stage of the planning reform process we have had 44,000 responses and have continued engagement with the Local Government Association and other important stakeholders, and we will be responding to those responses in due course.

[Baroness Janke (LD) [V]]

My Lords, the city of Freiburg is widely recognised as a global first-rank model of urban sustainable life, based on strong and active democracy and citizen participation. Is it not time that councils in this country were given the real powers they need to redress the balance between overpowerful developers and democratic institutions?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, we need to recognise the existing frailties of the current planning system, which has not been reformed for over seven decades and has a very poor record on public engagement. Data shows that less than 1% engage on local planning consultations and only 3% engage on applications. That is something that we intend to improve with the reforms that we have outlined in the White Paper.

Housing for the Homeless

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, many young people today under 25 face homelessness because a family member is shielding or because the stresses within a vulnerable family make them unsafe. They struggle to get the support they need. High house prices and rents mean that over two-thirds of young people today are paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The Government can help young people move on from homelessness or avoid it altogether through equalising universal credit for young people living independently with that of the over-25s, restoring work allowance for vulnerable claimants, paying the most vulnerable a grant instead of the five-week wait for universal credit and raising the local housing allowance for homeless young people and care leavers, as announced in the 2020 Budget. Lastly, an accessible framework of support and advice is essential if we are going to help vulnerable young people and care leavers to move on for good and escape the scourge of homelessness and rough sleeping.