King’s Speech

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to my noble friends Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Lady Hayman of Ullock. They will make outstanding contributions to His Majesty’s Government. I declare my interest as a trustee of the Nationwide Foundation, a charity established by the Nationwide Building Society in 1997 to deliver social change. It particularly concentrates on tackling housing and homelessness. Being the last contributor from the Back Benches is a tough gig. It was suggested to me that maybe I should have a word with the new Chief Whip, but I decided against that.

I want to use this time to talk about the private rented sector. The private rented sector is in need of reform and the renters’ rights Bill is a welcome introduction. Too many people live in unsafe, insecure and unaffordable housing. The statistics make grim reading. For example, increasing numbers of private renters face homelessness, more than 130,000 children live in temporary accommodation and 1.3 million children live in the private rented sector, where one in five homes falls short of basic decency standards. This means childhoods are blighted by poor housing, family budgets are stretched to breaking point to pay the rent, and vulnerable people are trapped in accommodation that does not meet their needs. Too many families therefore live without the foundation of a good-quality, secure home. Without that stability, they fail truly to fulfil their potential, which is why I believe that the lack of decent affordable homes is one of the most pressing social and economic problems facing families today, and why it is critical that the Government make fixing the housing emergency that my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath referred to in his opening speech an absolute priority for this Government.

For private renters, the King’s Speech yesterday restored some hope. There were a number of legislative proposals that will be welcomed by tenants and the organisations that campaigned for them, but renters have been here before. Noble Lords will remember that rental reform was pledged back in 2019 by the then Prime Minister Theresa May and what followed were five long years of inaction. Will the Minister assure the House that the new Government will turn this hope into reality and push ahead with rental reform at pace?

It is time to give renters long-term security in their homes with a swift and absolute end to evictions without reason. That means real protection when a landlord wants to sell the property or move a family member in. Two months’ notice—just eight weeks—is not long enough for a family to pack up and move out. The notice period needs to be at least four months. Unwanted moves are costly and stressful, and if you have caring responsibilities or a child at a local school these unwanted moves can be extremely disruptive for the whole family. Will the Government consider the suggestion from the consultation in 2019 of a two-year protected period from eviction for reason beyond a tenant’s control, which is supported by the Renters’ Reform Coalition, and consider all the Renters’ Reform Coalition’s proposals, in particular an increase in the notice period to at least four months?

It is also critical that the grounds for eviction are reformed and that there are penalties to deter the minority of landlords who may abuse the new grounds. One way to do this is to introduce a longer period when landlords cannot re-let after using a no-fault ground from three months to a year.

As well as security within the private rented sector, we need to address the quality of homes in that sector. One in eight private rented homes in England is unsafe to live in. Applying the decent homes standard to rented homes is therefore welcome. Sadly, some parts of the private rented sector are exploitative and squalid. Renters live in homes full of damp and mould, which is why the application of Awaab’s law to the private rented sector is very welcome.

As well as security and quality, we have to address affordability. The Government have recognised the need to outlaw bidding wars, which is essential, but we have to ensure that the increased security that renters are given by tenancy reform in a new Bill is not taken away by allowing rent hikes to go unchecked. The Bill needs to set clear limits to in-tenancy rent increases in order to ensure it delivers the security of tenure that it is designed to.

In addition, the development of a national landlord register could be of immense value to policymakers as well as to tenants and local authorities. Will the Government consider ensuring that the digital private rented sector database is integrated with existing databases for energy performance and gas safety, and consider it as a useful tool to collect information such as rent data and for local authority enforcement?

I turn to the wider housing proposals in the King’s Speech. Yesterday’s Speech proved that the Government have the will to deliver a national programme of building the homes that our country needs. We need investment in community-led housing projects, which are growing and have the potential to deliver so much more than they currently do. There are brilliant and innovative projects around the country, such as WeCanMake in Bristol, a community-led approach to identifying and building on infill plots in communities to create affordable homes. We have an opportunity to create these new homes and build new communities in a way that promotes health and well-being and supports a goal that I know is shared across the House: tackling health inequality. If they have not already done so, could the Government look at the Town and Country Planning Association’s 12 principles for healthy homes and embed them at the heart of their housing policy?

It is the King’s Speech debate so of course we have talked about the proposed legislation, but in my opinion legislation alone will not solve the housing emergency. For too long we have had a piecemeal approach to housing policy-making, which has exacerbated the crisis that we find ourselves in today. As set out by the Nationwide Foundation yesterday, we need to reimagine our housing system. The Homes for All campaign, referred to by the right reverend Prelates the Bishop of St Albans and the Bishop of Chelmsford, was launched by the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury a few months ago. Homes for All is an impressive national coalition of organisations and experts from across the housing sector, including the Church of England and the Nationwide Foundation. It wants to create and develop a policy conversation in England about housing and a well-functioning housing system. It has detailed 25 outcomes that can transform England’s homes and completely overhaul the current failing system. If the Government have not yet considered the proposals from the Homes for All campaign report then I recommend they do. They should be willing to meet with the Homes for All coalition to discuss shared objectives.

I appreciate that I have asked the Minister a number of questions in this contribution without forward notice, so I ask her to write to me on the points that I have raised. Finally, this is a housing debate and I need to make one final point: it is 2024, not 1824, so will the Minister set out when the Government will scrap the Vagrancy Act?