Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 9th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lucas (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to find that I take exactly the opposite point of view to that of the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill. I see permitted development rights—as in my Private Member’s Bill, and as in my amendments to this Bill—as having a large potential to contribute substantially to housing expansion. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, I shall curtail my remarks in the hope that what the Minister says will be so enlightening that I shall not need to ask her further questions.

My amendments propose a targeted set of expansions to permitted development rights to boost uptake and delivery by methods such as: removing unjustifiably onerous restrictions, including those concerning the ability to convert commercial buildings in areas of outstanding natural beauty, or the inability to extend upwards on pre-1948 buildings of no defined heritage value, or buildings postdating an arbitrary date; clarifying the wording of prior approval conditions to remove vagueness, which leads to a lack of consistency in decision-making between LPAs and more uncertainty in their application to, for example, natural light, flood risk or transport impacts; and removing the subjectivity currently allowed for within external appearance conditions for upward extensions, which are regularly used to refuse or frustrate upward extension in classes A and AA to AD and which act as a strong disincentive for the use of these permitted development rights by SME developers and housebuilders.

Instead, the local design code-based conditions in my amendments would provide certainty and consistency to decision-making, permitting the combined use and application of class MA and classes A and AA to AD, to maximise the development potential for existing buildings to deliver new homes.

Design codes are hugely important in this. Mandatory local design codes, already supported by the NPPF, are essential to make permitted development rights work at scale. They would replace subjective judgments on external appearance with rule-based certainty, define acceptable height, density, daylight and amenity standards to reduce the risk for developers, and be capable of delivery via a public/private model with some costs recovered through planning fee reforms, which could target PDR applications.

Reforms would bring consistency, reduce risk and make PDR a viable route to delivery. Local design codes would improve outcomes and boost developer confidence and certainty in the uptake and use of PDR. PDR allows for greater numbers of conversions and extensions of existing buildings to provide new housing and sustainable urban environments. This would help to reduce the demand and strain of granting housing developments in less sustainable greenfield locations.

Together, the amendments that I suggest would unlock new housing capacity in the most sustainable and accessible locations and benefit smaller building firms, while still maintaining quality and control over the urban environment.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill. With the Government’s ambition to increase the supply of social and affordable housing and the reforms to improve the capacity of the planning system, now seems the right time to reform PDR. The Government have rightly made the quality and safety of housing a priority, but conversions to PDR are not subject to the same standards compared to developments going through the full planning system.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, in its report on the impact of extending permitted development rights on public authorities and communities, found that the quality of office-to-residential conversions was significantly worse than those which had been brought through the planning process. Other than the nationally described space standards and requirements around natural light, there are no minimum standards for these converted homes relating to safety, facilities, communal space, or connection to amenities.

It is essential that the housing that is developed is the right housing to meet local needs and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. It is necessary to make it a viable solution for addressing the housing crisis. At a minimum, conversions should meet the healthy homes principle brought forward by the Town and Country Planning Association’s Healthy Homes campaign. I hope that the Minister will be able to respond positively to these points.

[Lord Jamieson (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Lucas and the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, for bringing these matters to the attention of the Committee. Permitted development rights are a significant area of policy as they play a crucial role in both the supply and the quality of new homes. It is important not only for the delivery of more housing but also for ensuring that those homes meet the needs of the communities in which they are built. The rules which govern permitted development therefore deserve careful consideration and the contributions made in today’s debate have highlighted the balance that must be struck between delivering more homes and protections for local communities and ensuring quality homes.

My noble friend Lord Lucas has raised a point of particular frustration for many homeowners in his Amendment 185A, and this reads across to other areas of government policy. I know owners of heritage properties and homes in conservation areas face particular challenges with increasing the energy efficiency of their home, and my noble friend is right to put this challenge to Ministers. I also note that the Government have announced that as of 2030 all private landlords will be required to meet a higher standard in their properties, with energy performance certificates of C or equivalent, up from the current level of E. Given the fact that many heritage and listed properties, including those in conservation areas, are often not permitted to instal double glazing—I refer to my comments in the previous group—can the Minister confirm that the new EPC requirement will not apply to listed and heritage properties? We look forward to hearing the Government’s view on these amendments and to understanding how they propose to address the concerns that have been raised.

Housing: National Tenant Body

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question and for championing this issue on behalf of tenants. I have met with G15; I went to its parliamentary session and had a look at its very good report on social housing stigma. I agree that we need to make sure that the tenant voice is heard. I have also met with the regulator of social housing twice, I think, since I took over the regulators. The social housing regulator is looking very carefully at how to increase the emphasis on the tenant voice. It is very important that this national body, whatever it is going to be, is tenant-led. I am happy to meet any tenant groups to move this forward. We all want to see tenants having a powerful voice in designing social housing policy.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I wonder whether I can support the Minister and the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill. A lot of work is being done already in the social housing sector by the NHS, and in the private-rented sector by Shelter, Generation Rent, Acorn and the NUS. It is very important that all types of tenants are represented in this national body. There are a lot of organisations involved here. Is my noble friend prepared to go a little further and suggest that the Government have a role—maintaining distance, obviously, because that is clearly needed—in setting this organisation up, perhaps with a little seed corn to supplement the rather meagre resources that many of these organisations have?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her question. The important thing is that we get the balance right between ensuring that tenants feel this body is genuinely tenant-led and doing what we can to help convene the right people around the table to bring this forward. I will continue discussions with all the relevant housing organisations and bodies to make sure that we are doing all we can to help move this forward. It is time we had some real action in this area.

Social Housing

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of new social homes built, and the number of new homes for social rent which have received planning permission, in the past six months.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Baroness Taylor of Stevenage) (Lab)]

My Lords, I was delighted that in the spending review last week the Government were able to provide the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation. We have confirmed £39 billion for a successor to the affordable homes programme over 10 years.

On the planning application statistics that my noble friend has requested, although the publication includes the number of homes granted planning permission, it does not yet include separate figures for new social homes built or the number of homes for social rent. The next quarterly publication is due on 19 June. However, there is an annual release published by the Government that includes affordable and social homes. The data for the last six months, up to March 2025, is not yet released but it will be available later this month.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that very positive reply. The entrenched and acute housing crisis inherited by the Government is in no small part due to the long-term failure to build anywhere near enough homes for social rent. My noble friend has made it clear that we are finally on the path to turn this around.

The National Housing Federation and other sector bodies described last week’s announcement as

“transformational … and will deliver the right conditions for a decade of renewal and growth … It is the most ambitious Affordable Homes Programme we’ve seen in decades”

and, most importantly,

“offers real hope to thousands of people who need safe, secure and affordable homes”.

Can my noble friend the Minister provide an update on the design and delivery of the new 10-year affordable homes programme, including what emphasis it will place on social rented homes, alongside other affordable tenures such as shared ownership?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for her warm reception for the announcement made at the spending review, and to the many social housing bodies that have echoed her words. We will work with the sector at pace to design the programme. We have provided certainty that it will be for a full 10 years; our providers wanted that certainty, and we were pleased to give it. We have combined that with a 10-year rent settlement that will give social housing providers the support and certainty they need to build the social and affordable homes that are so desperately needed. It is important to note the decline in social home building: in the 1950s, when my town was built, we were building around 200,000 social homes a year, but in recent years, we have built fewer than 10,000. We have a lot of work to do, and we will get on with the job.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lady Whitaker. I want to emphasise the shortage of appropriate accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers, particularly when the size of this community is growing. There are multiple disadvantages linked to insufficient quality accommodation on sites—not only poor education and physical and mental health outcomes but a sense of social exclusion from the wider community.

The dearth of GRT sites and accommodation can cause conflict and tension. Local councillors are beset with complaints if an unauthorised encampment appears in their area. Unauthorised encampments often result from a lack of suitable authorised places. The Government already know these issues, but they need the partnership of the housing sector to drive change and speed up delivery of sites. I know that the social housing sector would like to help the Government in breaking this cycle by providing sufficient and appropriate sites and accommodation. There are a number of measures that can be taken in partnership to deliver more homes, and reduce conflict and costs to the taxpayer.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 12th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Coffey (Con)]

My Lords, I oppose this amendment. It is rare that I am out of step with my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham, but I am concerned that overregulation of aspects of employment is—how can I put it?—a solution waiting for an extensive problem. One of the things that these amendments do is to yet again give considerable powers to others to set all sorts of training expectations. Candidly, and certainly in the private market, there are simply too many sectors in which government and Parliament seek to rip away control instead of the individual having that engagement and relationship.

We already have the property redress scheme in place, of which letting agents and people who manage properties have to be a part. Do not get me wrong: there are plenty of landlords who are not necessarily doing what they should, at the moment, but there are already mechanisms to put this in place. I do not believe that qualifications, training schemes or similar will make a particular difference.

I am also conscious of what happened with social housing, particularly some of the significant failures that we sadly saw in aspects of local government and housing associations. There was a feeling that something must be done. I am conscious, however, that that does not mean that we need to paint every letting agent or property manager with the same brush. For me, this is overreach on behalf of Parliament and, again, I would like to see the evidence for why we need to go to this extent and why yet another profession that has minimal regulation today now needs to be heavily regulated.

It is again a barrier that would put up agencies’ costs. This is the reality of having to deal with this sort of regulation: the person who pays is the renter, not the landlord. We have to bear in mind that, with the cost of living challenge that we are facing—still the number one issue for the electorate in this country—we are here tonight considering an amendment that will continue to put costs on people who are trying to pay their rent. This is the sort of economic situation that we need to consider for every regulation where we are adding extra barriers to entry to make sure that we keep in mind the people who want to just get on with their lives and have good relationships. They can change in the private sector; that is much harder for people in the social rented sector but, even then, we may have gone slightly too far. We must continue to consider the economic impact on people in this country with every regulation that we pass in this House.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the noble Lord, Lord Best. I declare an interest, which I recently gave up, as the chair of the Property Ombudsman board. Perhaps I can provide some of the evidence that the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, wanted because, in 30 years of dealing with complaints about property agents, the Property Ombudsman has seen many disputes that probably would not have occurred had those agents undertaken formal training and qualifications.

In 2023—the latest statistics we have—the ombudsman resolved over 2,200 letting disputes. Of these, over half concerned the management of tenancies where the main issues were the agents’ performance in organising and communicating repair and maintenance issues. For the majority, dissatisfaction in these disputes concerned simple and consistent communication around timescales and, in general, managing expectations. Training for agents on how to manage tenant and landlord expectations would have stopped many disputes arising in the first instance.

In addition, there were more than 500 disputes that related to complaint handling. Again, agents currently do not take a consistent approach to complaint handling, which often leaves both tenants and landlords frustrated. It became very clear to me in my time at the Property Ombudsman that to provide a professional and consistent level of service to tenants and landlords, many letting agents would benefit from formal training. It would not only help agents to provide a better service but set consistent expectations for consumers, meaning that relationships between agents, tenants and landlords would improve.

In my brief intervention, I reinforce the RoPA report recommendations of the noble Lord, Lord Best, indeed reinforced by the work of my noble friend Lady Hayter, that the elements required to implement a training and qualifications regime are already in place. I hope it would not be too significant a leap for the Government to make training and qualifications a mandatory requirement for all letting agents.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, in my response to all amendments in this group, I will be guided by a principle of stability and fairness—fairness for both tenants and landlords. This is not a debate about unchecked gain, and nor should it result in the erosion of property rights. It is about balance, responsibility and securing a system that works for everyone.

Amendment 75 in my name probes the Government’s reasons for preventing the tenant and landlord agreeing a rent value that is higher than the rent set by the tribunal. Just consider this scenario: the tribunal makes a determination, but then the landlord embarks on a renovation, which includes new appliances and upgrades throughout the property. Under this legislation, even if a tenant voluntarily wishes to pay a higher rent to reflect improvements made to the property, they would be prohibited from doing so. Two consenting adults, tenant and landlord, may well agree that the enhanced value of the home warrants a modest increase in rent. A mutual agreement will exist and yet the Bill would override that agreement. Why should the Government intervene to prevent it? That is one example, but it is, in truth, superfluous to the broader point I wish to make. If a mutual will exists—if two adults come to an agreement, regardless of whether we personally deem their reasons rational—why should any Government say no? Why should this Bill override that choice? We must be careful not to legislate away agency in the pursuit of protection, and I hope the Minister will reflect on that.

Amendment 78 in my name seeks to prevent the Secretary of State expanding the definition of low-cost tenancy by regulation. This definition is important: it is not a technicality but fundamental. It determines not only how a property is treated under the law but how the relationship between the tenant and the landlord is structured. I understand that this is a significant power. Does the Minister agree? Anyone familiar with detail in the implications of this Bill will surely recognise that the power of a Minister to alter the foundations of an existing contract is unacceptable. Therefore, can the Minister commit to removing this regulatory power ahead of Report? If not, can she please set out in writing why she believes the Government should be afforded this power?

Finally, Amendment 86, in my name, probes the Government’s reasons for allowing a six-month period in which an application may be made to the tribunal under the newly constructed Section 14(A1). Six months could lead to a significant increase in claims being directed towards an already overburdened tribunal service. Have the Government properly considered multiple timescales and modelled the impact each would have on the tribunal system? If this vital work has been overlooked, will the Minister commit to reviewing the impact of the chosen timescale on the total claims and return to the Dispatch Box with this at a later time? This is not an unreasonable request, and I hope the Minister agrees.

Many of the amendments in this group are intended to probe the Government’s thinking and understand how they have arrived at the current text of the Bill. Unsurprisingly, given the importance of these matters, this group contains numerous amendments; I hope the Minister listens carefully to the views expressed across the Committee and is not too ready to dismiss them all in her reply. I beg to move.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 80, 80A, 82 and 83 in my name. Each relates to the potential unintended consequences of Clause 7 for registered providers of social housing. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Best, for his support.

Before turning to my amendments, I express my strong support for the Government’s ambition to give greater rights and protections to people renting their home. Since the previous Conservative Government first promised to end no-fault evictions in 2019, almost a million renters have received a Section 21 eviction, which is a leading cause of homelessness. It is right that the Government have acted decisively to end this unacceptable situation for good.

While most of the Bill is focused on reforming the private rented sector, some reforms will affect housing associations because the majority of homes that they provide use assured tenancies. This includes housing for people on low incomes, people needing high levels of support, people in crisis and people in need of short-term and emergency accommodation.

I understand that significant progress has been made to amend the Bill to negate any unintended consequences for social landlords. This has been strongly welcomed by the National Housing Federation and others that support this legislation. There have been welcome changes to ground 1B and ground 6, as well as the introduction of ground 6ZA, which will allow social landlords to gain access to properties both to meet housing need and to deliver essential redevelopment and improvement works. However, housing associations would still very much like to see further clarity in the Bill on proposed changes to the process for rent increases.

Housing associations are not-for-profit social landlords: they invest any income back into the development and maintenance of the homes they provide and into supporting residents and communities. To maintain fairness for tenants, to ensure administrative efficiency and alignment with benefits and utility rates increases, and to provide business certainty for repairs, maintenance and services, housing associations increase all tenants’ rent on the same day, usually in April. The Bill helpfully acknowledges this and attempts to provide a mechanism by which social landlords can still administer annual rent increases in the form of contractual clauses instead of Section 13A notices.

Retaining registered providers’ ability to use clauses in tenancy agreements to increase rents is positive, as it provides them with a practical method for increasing rents on the same day for all tenants. The loss of this rent-harmonisation mechanism would have been a significant disruption—and, indeed, unnecessary, given how heavily regulated this sector is compared with the private rented sector.

However, the ability to use contractual clauses instead of Section 13A notices could be clearer than is stated in the Bill currently. The Explanatory Notes clarify that contractual clause increases can be used, but the Bill says:

“For the purpose of securing an increase in the rent under a tenancy … the landlord may serve on the tenant a notice”.


It goes on. This reflects the wording applying to PRS tenancies, where the word “may” is used in a mandatory sense, as the only way that the landlord can increase the rent is through the process in Section 13 of the 1988 Act. In contrast, where it applies to relevant registered provider tenancies, “may” is used in a permissive sense: the landlord can use a Section 13A notice, but they also have the option to increase by a clause in the tenancy agreement.

The Bill provides for this method of increase by agreement between the landlord and the tenant. However, it does not make it clear whether each increase must be agreed or whether a mechanism for increase in the tenancy agreement covers all increases.

Housing: New Homes Target

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Eaton (Con)]

My Lords—

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

24: Clause 4, page 5, line 22, at end insert—
“(5ZB) The court may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house on Ground 6B (whether or not an order is also sought on any other ground) where the landlord has not complied with section 11A of this Act.”Member's explanatory statement
This amendment would make possession under ground 6B contingent on compensation being paid, rather than compensation being dependent on court proceedings.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of the Property Ombudsman, TPO, for the private rented sector. I have two amendments in this group, Amendments 24 and 30. Both relate to repossession under ground 6B. Their intention is to make possession on that ground contingent on compensation being paid, rather than being dependent on court proceedings. I am grateful for the very helpful briefing on this matter to the National Renters Alliance and specifically to Safer Renting, a renter advocacy service operated by the social action charity Cambridge House.

Ground 6B provides landlords with a route to vacant possession, evicting the renter in the process, to give the landlord the possibility of avoiding a range of sanctions that could be imposed or taken by a local authority when breaches have occurred. As I understand it, the purpose is to protect renters from poor landlord practice—for example, poor housing conditions—while enabling landlords to comply with enforcement action. However, it gives the non-compliant landlord grounds for possession of the property in cases where renter wrongdoing may not have occurred, yet resulting in potential homelessness for the renter. An amendment was made to the Bill in another place to give the court the option of ordering the landlord to pay to the tenant such sum as appears sufficient as compensation for damage or loss sustained by that tenant as a result of the order for possession.

This is a welcome addition to the Bill. The intention of that amendment is to compensate the renter appropriately for the damages of possession. However, Safer Renting, whose staff are experts in supporting renters to access redress, believes that the mechanism for doing so via a court order has significant complications. Under the current proposal, any compensation ordered by the court may not be paid to the renter before their eviction. If compensation is not paid before the eviction, renters may be left to foot the bill for any relocation or legal expenses out of their own pockets.

This is wholly inappropriate and leaves the renter in an extremely perilous position. It is surely contrary to natural justice. Ground 6B would mean that the renter is evicted from their home, forced into finding alternative accommodation—potentially at a higher rate—or faces homelessness. The renter is burdened by the highly stressful situation of having to find a new private tenancy. The renter is likely to be forced to pay for a new deposit in the intermediary period before the possession and the compensation payment, which they may not be able to afford. The renter’s housing move-on is at the mercy of the court system for their compensation—a court system with extreme backlogs and under extreme pressure. This is likely to cause a prolonged period of uncertainty and stress. The renter must find legal representation, potentially at prohibitively high costs, and is expected to take on the additional burden of pursuing an unscrupulous landlord for unpaid compensation. By making the possession contingent on compensation paid up front, the renter does not suffer these consequences and is fairly compensated for any stress and burden experienced.

There are further considerations if a renter is evicted. Renters in priority need must be placed in temporary accommodation and rehoused by the council, at substantial cost to the individual local authority and the public purse. This is further complicated by the prospect that a mandatory ground for eviction could financially disincentivise councils from pursuing the necessary enforcement action against the non-compliant landlord, contradicting the local authorities’ enforcement strategy as the costs of rehousing are passed on to the local authority. This is during a period in which local authorities are spending £2.3 billion on temporary accommodation housing more than 120,000 households, and many councils are in severe financial trouble.

In addition, with deposits now averaging around £1,218, the cost of a new deposit is potentially a major prohibitor to finding new accommodation quickly. Should the landlord fail to return the renter’s deposit on their vacating the property, the renter would be expected to find an additional cash sum likely to be over £1,000. This is highly prohibitive for most renters and leaves them either in potentially dire financial straits or unable to afford access to a new home.

A recent survey by the property company Reposit showed that, of 1,000 renters surveyed, nearly half—48%—had to borrow money to afford a deposit. By ensuring that compensation for possession is paid prior to the possession order, renters will be able to move properties more seamlessly and not face potentially prohibitive financial burdens or barriers.

As the Bill is currently presented, for the renter to access compensation they must rely on the landlord, who has already broken the law, to comply with the court order to pay compensation. There is no guarantee that any compensation ordered by the court will be paid to the renter. In this event, the renter must take the landlord to court. The courts, as I have said, are currently under record backlogs, with most recent data suggesting that the wait time for a small claims hearing is 54 weeks—more than a year. This is an egregious length of time to wait to receive the necessary and appropriate compensation for a vacant possession through a landlord’s non-compliance.

Legal representation is also a major financial barrier that may prevent renters from attempting to claim compensation. Vacant possessions are typically ordered on poor-quality housing where the rent is lower; therefore, the income of the renter is also likely to be lower. It is logical to assume that the majority of renters who receive a possession order will not have the funds to support a legal claim against the landlord for the compensation that they are due. This would be a significant injustice; I hope it can be prevented.

Although some renters would be able to access legal aid funding, the majority and an increasing proportion would not. Legal aid cuts have resulted in 34% fewer legal aid funded possessions proceedings since the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012—according to analysis from Safer Renting.

Furthermore, compensation is not always paid by criminal landlords, even following a court order, as Safer Renting has witnessed in a high number of cases. Safer Renting’s data reveals that, in instances where award for a rent repayment order has been given against a landlord, with the proper status and assets, only 40% of landlords have complied with the order to pay the renter. When the order has been made against an intermediary landlord, compliance with the order drops even further to just 5%. This is contrary to natural justice and the intentions of Parliament in bringing forward the Bill.

I hope my noble friend the Minister will consider how, without compensation paid prior to the possession of the home, renters—particularly those on low or no income—will find the necessary funds to pay for a deposit on a new home while they await a court order. What estimate do the Government make of the additional costs that local authorities in England will incur in cases where priority-need renters are evicted from their homes and placed into temporary accommodation? Will legal aid be made available to renters to enforce compensation orders made by the court under the existing provision for representation in relation to possession proceedings? If so, what is the Government’s calculation of how much extra this will cost? Finally, can the Minister say whether there is an appropriate timeframe for a renter to receive compensation following their eviction?

I hope I have shown that my amendments would deliver a fairer and more just outcome for the renter, where the landlord has acted unscrupulously or without compliance. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

All noble Lords, including my noble friends, will of course be welcome to any meetings that are held.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I will not attempt to critique the Minister’s response to other amendments or indeed to summarise comments on them. They were all about repossessions, but they were so very different that it would be impossible to do that. I admire the Minister, and indeed the Opposition Front Bench, for trying to pull them all together into one discussion. I will not critique them, but I will look very carefully at what the Minister has said. I particularly thank the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, for her support for my amendments.

I know the Minister sought to reassure me that the Bill was capable of covering the concerns that I had expressed. She commented that the courts were best placed to decide on compensation—of course I appreciate that—and that the courts would set out a timeframe for compensation, which I very much welcome and understand. But I am still very conscious of the concerns of the Renters Alliance and its various constituent organisations about the impact of these repossessions, particularly on the most vulnerable, when they are evicted at no fault of their own and are in financial difficulties and under a lot of stress as a result.

I hope the Minister will agree to see how this very real problem could be resolved. I am reluctant to ask her for another meeting when so many others have already been agreed to, but I would appreciate it very much if we could sit down and discuss this, because I feel I would need personally to be reassured that there are parts of the Bill that would satisfy the concerns that I have expressed. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment 24 withdrawn.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Lords Chamber

However, more generally, we must recognise that more needs to be done in this area, whether it is simply the amendment proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, to which I have added my name, or the more general change that is set out in the other amendments in this group. A vibrant private rented sector for students is necessary if we are going to protect and increase educational opportunity in this country. It is not sufficient, of course, but it is genuinely necessary. I hope the Minister will recognise both this and that student accommodation in general needs to be treated as the distinctive case that it is.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, briefly, I support Amendment 40, to which I added my name. I am concerned to ensure that we do not inadvertently damage further the student accommodation market. There is already a very severe shortage in student housing. The proposal to end fixed-term tenancy agreements could have such an impact. I have received very detailed briefings from UniHomes—supported, I know, by Unipol—Universities UK, HEPI and other organisations intimately involved in student housing.

Purpose-built student accommodation will be exempt from this decision, but student accommodation provided by the private rented sector is not offered that exemption. I know that the government objective, which I fully support, is to deliver security and stability to tenants, but I do not believe that the Bill, as it stands, will deliver that for all students. As the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, pointed out, on average, private sector accommodation is cheaper than purpose-built accommodation, so it is an important source of housing for domestic students who are economically disadvantaged. I hope that the Minister will recognise that possibility and not jeopardise such provision, as many think this might. It would be worth considering granting the exemption granted to purpose-built student accommodation to the student private rented sector in total. Other suggestions have been made and I hope that the Minister will consider them all to ensure the stability of student accommodation.

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, along with the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Wolf and Lady Warwick, I have signed this amendment. I spoke about this issue at Second Reading.

The noble Lord, Lord Willetts, reminded us that there are three totally different rental regimes for students: purpose-built accommodation, including large blocks; the HMOs, which are larger properties in the private rented sector; and the smaller private rented sector accommodation. The noble Lord was absolutely right to say that the achievement of so many young people in going to university has been dependent on the availability of accommodation in the private rented sector. From my time in Newcastle upon Tyne, I know how fundamentally important the PRS was to the growth of the universities in the city. I think the Government accept that a special arrangement is needed for an academic-year contract, but that has to include those in one-bedroom or two-bedroom properties; they also need to be exempted as part of ground 4A, which currently restricts the exemption to houses in multiple occupation.

The Government have Amendment 202 in this group, and I am keen to hear what the Minister will say about that and to what extent she feels it will help us solve the problem. There is a danger that unscrupulous landlords will define properties as being for students when they are not, in order to bypass the impact of this Bill when enacted. I thought a lot about that and believe that the Government can mitigate that possibility. It might be done through the register; there may be ways of delivering a solution by that means. It occurred to me that it may be possible to use non-liability for paying council tax as the basis for a system for identifying those who would qualify for Ground 4A. It would require local authority co-operation and proactive management of the private rented sector, but it can be done—and it needs to be done because students are very important to the lifeblood of many cities and towns across the country. Having a vibrant private rented sector for them to use matters.

If the Government decide that the smaller private rented sector properties do not need additional help, the likelihood, given that students would be able to give two months’ notice under the revised terms of this Bill, is that landlords will decide to stop letting properties in the private rented sector to students, or to reduce their exposure to the student-letting market.

It is a complex area. I recall the Minister saying when she summed up at Second Reading that there are difficulties and issues that have to be considered. I hope that, once she has replied and we better understand the intention of Amendment 202, we can produce something much better when the Bill is on Report.

High-rise Buildings: Safety Remediation

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right to say that we can do better, which is why we have introduced the remediation acceleration plan. The plan’s targets provide greater certainty to residents, a significant acceleration in pace and much greater certainty about when cladding remediation will be resolved. We have never had targets like these before. This Government have put in place a plan to deliver; it is now up to those responsible for making their buildings safe to do so. The plan has been criticised by campaigners for not being ambitious enough and by industry for being too ambitious and unachievable. All plans like this must strike a balance; we believe this plan gets the right balance and is ambitious but also achievable.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, the National Audit Office also found that, in the social housing sector, remediating cladding safety defects will cost £3.8 billion. The National Housing Federation says that housing associations could build 91,000 more affordable homes if the social housing sector had equal access to government funding to pay for building safety works. Substantial funding is being diverted away from investing in new affordable homes to pay building safety costs, so could I ask the Minister whether the Government have a plan to ensure that the social housing sector can deliver the 1.5 million new affordable homes target by making it eligible for the Government’s building safety funding?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to point to the strains on social housing between remediation of all kinds of maintenance defects, including fire safety, and building new affordable housing. From April, we will increase targeted support for social landlords applying for government remediation funding. That will help them meet the costs of planning and preparing for remediation works, and to start remedial work sooner. Social landlords can apply for government remediation funding equivalent to the amount that would otherwise have been passed on to leaseholders, or for the full cost of the works where remediation would render a social landlord financially unviable. We have committed £568 million to support the remediation of social housing through government schemes.