Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my direct interest in the private rented sector, with cottage lettings in Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire, together with farming and agricultural lettings. I am also a member of the National Farmers’ Union and the Country Land and Business Association, which have a direct interest in Amendment 63, on which I shall speak and for which I am grateful for the support of the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, who sadly is not able to be here today.

Before I turn to Amendment 63, I am also very pleased to be able to support Amendment 60 in the names of my noble friend Lord Carter of Haslemere and the noble Lord, Lord Hacking. I certainly will not repeat everything that has been said, but I shall make just one further point: it is relevant to note that Paragon, a bank that specialises in the private rented sector, commissioned a survey of landlords on the proposals in the Bill and the result was that 71% of landlords put the extended time, from two months to three months, as their top concern.

On Amendment 63, the Bill does not contain provisions to allow the repossession of a residential property if there is to be a change of usage. For example, if a landlord wanted to use the land for office space or commercial or retail usage, the amendment would allow them to seek possession of a dwelling house where it was intended that the use of that property, or the land on which it was situated, would be changed to non-residential and there was permission from the relevant authorities to do so. There are a number of Bills, reviews and reports in motion which cover farm diversification, which the Government are keen to encourage in the light of falling profitability in farming as subsidies are withdrawn or concentrated on environmental activities and concerns. Farmers are therefore looking carefully at their assets to see whether they can be put to more profitable usage. Obviously, this can involve the farmstead house and buildings rather than just stand-alone farm buildings. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is relevant in this context, together with the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which specifically targets facilities and building conversions that help rural businesses to diversify.

In addition, we have the land use framework and a farming road map to look forward to, and it has also been announced that the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, will chair a report on profitability in farming and this will include diversification. This amendment assists in enabling this diversification, if the necessary planning permission has been granted. I am thoroughly aware that the Minister is keen not to reduce the housing stock. However, although it is possible that the proposed diversification will affect only agricultural buildings, there may be a more comprehensive development involving a farmhouse or other residential building, particularly if they are closely located to the diversification site. I therefore hope that the Minister will include this amendment as a sensible ground for possession, one which would assist in the development of the rural economy.

[Lord Pannick (CB)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Cromwell’s Amendment 142. I declare an interest in that my wife owns rental properties. I agree with what the noble Lord says about the mischief of Clause 15. It is very easy to imagine circumstances in which the owner of a property decides, in good faith, to sell it and the tenant therefore has to leave. The landlord then places the property for sale on the market but finds that, for whatever reason, after four or six months they cannot sell it. Clause 15 would prevent the landlord for 12 months from again leasing out the property. It would do so however well-intentioned the conduct of the owner of the property and however reasonable the new tenancy agreement, and even if the new lease is to the same tenant as the old one, on the same terms, including as to rent.

I entirely understand the Government’s wish to prevent landlords from abusing their rights, but the breadth of this restriction is, to my mind, plainly disproportionate to the feared mischief. This is not only unfair on the landlord; it will inevitably have an adverse effect on the housing stock available for rental purposes.

I appreciate that Ministers have stated that this Bill is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, but it seems to me very doubtful indeed that this clause complies with Article 1 of the first protocol to the convention, on the right to property. The European Court of Human Rights and our domestic courts have explained that the right to property requires a fair balance between the interests of property owners and those of the community in general. I cannot see how a blanket provision which penalises a landlord by preventing them from renting out their property, for a period of 12 months, however bona fide their conduct or however fair the terms of the lease, could possibly be said to respect a fair balance.

The mischief which the Government seek to prevent requires a more tailored response. I hope the Minister will be able to say, in response to the concerns that have been expressed by my noble friend Lord Cromwell and myself, that she will be prepared to meet with us to discuss ways of making this clause more proportionate by recognising an exception for landlords who have acted in good faith and responsibly.

--- Later in debate ---

Moved by

[Lord Carrington]

29: Clause 4, page 7, line 2, after “2ZA” insert “or Ground 2ZZA”
Member's explanatory statement
This amendment, along with other amendments related to new Ground 2ZZA in the name of Lord Carrington, seeks to ensure that where the intermediate landlord is given less than 3 months’ notice to quit, the duration of any notice they are required to give to their tenant is limited to 2 months.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I have already declared my interests earlier in the debate today. In speaking to this group of amendments, I thank the Minister for discussing them with me yesterday in great detail. I also forgot to thank her for the discussion that we had on the previous amendment.

The amendments that I have tabled are designed to ensure that an intermediate landlord who is, under the terms of his tenancy, obliged under a notice to quit to release his tenancy in less than three months, can give notice to his own subtenant limited to two months rather than the Bill’s four months, so that he is not in contravention of the head tenancy. It is proposed that ground 2ZA is amended to reduce the notice period to two months to avoid situations where an Agricultural Holdings Act tenant is forced into breaching the terms of their agreement through no fault of their own.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for the amendments and for the meeting we had yesterday, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, for his comments on this set of amendments. Amendment 28 works together with Amendments 29, 37 and 38 to insert a new ground for possession, numbered 2ZZA. This proposed ground for possession is well intentioned but, in the Government’s view, unnecessary. It seeks to replicate ground 2ZA with a notice period of two months rather than four in the limited circumstances where agricultural landlords have been given short notice to vacate of three months or less by their superior landlord. Ground 2ZA already covers these circumstances and allows superior landlords and courts to treat a notice given under ground 2ZA as valid even after the intermediate landlord is no longer legally involved once their lease has ended, thus providing the affected tenant with the same protection.

Amendment 28 specifically seeks to ensure that the proposed ground has two months’ notice. This goes against the general principle of the Bill that tenants should generally be given four months’ notice to uproot their lives in circumstances where they have not committed any wrongdoing. We do not believe that a tenant’s security of tenure should be undermined due to the actions of a superior landlord and encourage communication between all parties, where a superior landlord’s notice to the intermediate landlord is shorter. By creating ground 2ZZA with a shorter notice period for circumstances where the intermediate agricultural landlord has themself been given short notice by their superior landlord, the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, is seeking to ensure that the superior landlord is not left managing the subtenancy.

Amendment 29 adds ground 2ZZA to the list, in subsection 4(3)(f) of the Bill, in which a notice given by an intermediate landlord can be treated as a notice given by a superior landlord once the intermediate tenancy has ended. As superior landlords will already be able to evict tenants under a notice given by an intermediate landlord, we do not think the noble Lord’s proposed ground 2ZZA is required.

Amendment 37 is an amendment specifically to ground 2ZA, disapplying it in the circumstances in which the noble Lord wishes ground 2ZZA to apply. Further to what I have already said, this highlights the redundancy of the proposed ground 2ZZA. Clearly, ground 2ZA would apply already, to the point that it needs to be disapplied to make proposed ground 2ZZA work. I am sorry—I hope everyone is following this.

Amendment 38 inserts the proposed ground into Schedule 1 to the Bill. For all the reasons I have already highlighted, in our view the amendment is not required. As such, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw the amendment.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

I thank the Minister for her extremely clear description of this amendment and why it might not work. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, very much for his own contribution. Everyone is probably now completely befuddled by the whole thing. I will not take up any more of your Lordships’ time, and I certainly will withdraw the amendment. However, we will be looking further at the legal implications of this.

Amendment 29 withdrawn.

--- Later in debate ---

Moved by

[Lord Carrington]

48: Schedule 1, page 173, line 30, leave out “a person” and insert “an agricultural worker”
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment, along with other amendments related to new grounds for possession for occupation in the name of Lord Carrington, seeks to enable the landlord to gain possession of the dwelling-house to house their agricultural worker regardless of the worker’s employment status (i.e. employee, worker, self-employed person or contractor).

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I already declared my interests earlier in the debate.

I will speak to Amendments 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58. Some of these amendments have been kindly supported by the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Lords, Lord Colgrain and Lord Roborough. The objective of Amendment 48 is to broaden the definition of “agricultural worker”, regardless of the worker’s employment status to cover not only a direct employee but a self-employed person or contractor, as this reflects modern farming employment practices.

In my meeting with the Minister, to whom I am most grateful for her attention, I learned that she was worried that this could open up an exemption for a wider group of workers, but I hope that I have reassured her that this specifically covers only agricultural workers. Her suggestion that the same could be achieved by allowing self-employed workers to occupy a property under licence would not be appropriate for longer-term workers, which this amendment seeks to address.

We believe that a ground for possession should be available where there is a need to house a non-employed agricultural worker; for example, a self-employed party to a share-farming arrangement on the farm or a self-employed shepherd or cowman. It is quite common in the agriculture industry for workers to be self-employed, but, given the nature of their work, especially if it is with livestock, they need to live on the site.

Currently, ground 5A provides a means of getting possession where the dwelling is required to house someone who will be employed by them as an agricultural worker. However, it does not cover the situation where the worker is self-employed. Similarly, ground 5C does not adequately provide for possession where a self-employed worker has been provided with a dwelling, but the work contract has ended. It applies only when the tenant has been employed directly by the landlord. We would like to see extensions to grounds 5A and 5C to cover situations where the worker/tenant is self-employed as well as employed. I hope that the Minister will be able to accept this amendment, which purely reflects current employment practices in the farming industry and is certainly not designed to cover non-agricultural workers.

I turn now to Amendments 50 and 53 in this group. By way of background, in the rural private rented sector the average length of a tenancy is around seven years, so there is little churn in view of the long-term nature of accommodation in rural areas. Combined with the shortage of rural affordable housing, which I hope will be addressed in the Planning and Infra- structure Bill, the availability of housing to support rural growth, particularly that driven by the increasing need for farm diversification due to lack of profitability in farming, is a clear and continuing problem. This diversification is being encouraged by the Government through schemes such as the Rural England Prosperity Fund. However, this diversification will be held back if it involves the necessity to house an employee on site and there is no availability of housing.

Rural landlords in the private rented sector have traditionally been the employer of their tenants. Historically, they have primarily housed agricultural workers, but with mechanisation, fewer mixed farms and employment costs, these cottages have been rented to others. At the same time, legislation governing the private rented sector has evolved to give extra statutory protection to agricultural workers. However, as farms have modernised and have been encouraged to diversify, many farmers and landlords have businesses which employ staff to operate in non-farming sectors but still need to be housed by the landlord for the better performance of their duties. The system of assured shorthold tenancies has allowed farmers and landowners to recover cottages at the end of the fixed term and thereby house the employee for the new enterprise.

In a situation of assured tenancies, this option will not exist, so the prudent owner may well take the view that he cannot risk an assured tenancy and therefore keep the house unoccupied. This could affect supply in an already-stretched private rented sector. While it remains very important that rural landlords are able to house incoming agricultural workers—new ground 5A —it is increasingly important that they are able to gain possession from a non-employee PRS tenant in order to house an employee of their diversified business.

This amendment would allow possession where the property is required for housing a person who, for the better performance of their duties, is required to be, or is by custom, housed by their employer. In order to conform with an assured tenancy, this circumstance could be made a prior notice ground in an assured tenancy if a fixed-term tenancy is not allowed. The possibility of registering such properties would allow an incoming tenant to be aware that such properties can be let only on fixed terms. Examples of such employees include security personnel, housekeepers, catering staff, wardens and groundsmen.

I urge the Minister to favourably consider this amendment, in light of the real needs of the rural economy, where housing is in very short supply and the need for rural diversification from farming is paramount. The Bill is currently geared toward the urban PRS and does not take sufficient account of the different challenges in the rural sector. I beg to move.

[The Earl of Leicester (Con)]

My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, on Amendments 48, 49 and 51 and, subsequently, 50 and 53. On the first ones, the noble Lord is absolutely right that, in the 21st century, the terms of employment in agriculture have moved on: they are not based on the old direct employee relationship. There are increasing numbers of self-employed people—the noble Lord mentioned stockmen and stockwomen, and many stockmen will be self-employed and work for two or three farmers, with two or three herds. Obviously, it puts you at an advantage if you can provide them with a house.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Presumably there would be a time lag anyway because of the notice period that is required. Whatever arrangements are made in those circumstances would need to be used in the circumstances that the noble Baroness describes.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

I just add that there may not be a notice period if there has been an accident.

I thank all the noble Lords who have contributed to the debate, particularly the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Scott and Lady Grender. I look forward to hearing what the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has to say before Report.

There are two themes to these amendments. The first is the change in farming employment practices, and these amendments are designed to cater for that. The second theme is farm diversification, which this Government are keen, quite rightly, to encourage. As we all know, diversification ought to lead to growth and growth ought to lead to more housing, as there will be more wealth. I think the Government should, if possible, broaden the way that they look at these two amendments.

The Minister mentioned that the proposals that have been put forward are open to abuse. I say only that the abuse would be by a very small number of people, whom one could probably deal with in a different way. Airbnb and licensing are solutions for certain types of contractors or employees who are brought in for a limited period, but are certainly not suitable for the longer term. It is not in any landowner’s interests to get rid of a tenant who is paying a decent rent in order to put in an employee who is not paying a rent, unless he really has to, so I do not think that abuse is really an issue.

However, I see that we need to look at the definitions very carefully and I am happy to sit down again to try to come up with some definitions of who should qualify for this. That said, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 48 withdrawn.

--- Later in debate ---

Moved by

[Lord Carrington]

65: Schedule 1, page 187, line 4, at end insert—
“New ground for possession for property which is needed to house a protected tenant
24A After Ground 8 insert—“Ground 8A
The landlord seeking possession requires the dwelling-house for the purpose of housing a person who either—(a) was employed by the landlord, or in the case of joint landlords seeking possession, by at least one of those landlords, and whom the landlord has an ongoing statutory duty to house after the job has ended as provided by the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or this Act, or(b) is the former employee’s successor under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or this Act.””Member’s explanatory statement
This new ground for possession allows possession of a property where it is needed for the landlord/s to provide Suitable Alternative Accommodation under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or this Act to a protected former employee (or their successor) whom the landlord has a lifetime duty to house.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I repeat that I declared my interests earlier in the debate, so I will not bore your Lordships with them again. I am now talking about Amendment 65, on which I am pleased to have the support of the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Lord, Lord Roborough. Once again, it is a fairly technical matter, so I will try not to send everyone to sleep.

I thank the Minister for her engagement on this issue. I have taken on board her concerns, which relate principally, as we have heard throughout these debates, to making sure that the rights of assured tenants are not affected.

Many former or current agricultural employees have protected tenancies under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or they have lifetime security of tenure as assured agricultural occupants under the Housing Act 1988. While landlords have the statutory duty to house these protected tenants for their lifetime, and for at least one succession to a spouse or other family member, they have the right under the above statutes to offer such tenants suitable alternative accommodation—SAA.

Often, the tenants of these houses occupy housing required for a new agricultural worker or a property that is no longer suitable for them due to age or infirmity. In its current form, the Renters’ Rights Bill does not address the fact that a property may be occupied by a protected tenant. To offer that property to a new agricultural employee or rehouse an aged retiree to ensure that their housing needs are appropriately met, another property is required to offer as suitable alternative accommodation to that protected tenant. There is currently no ground in the Bill to allow possession of a PRS property in order to rehouse a tenant whom the landlord has a statutory lifetime duty to house. This amendment will enable landlords of rural properties to manage their properties when rehousing protected tenants.

The amendment is vital because of the longer-term nature of accommodation in rural areas. The average tenancy, as I said in a previous debate, last for 7.5 years and it is often not possible to rely on a natural churn of tenancies in order to offer the suitable alternative accommodation when it is needed. A nearby vacant rental property is often unavailable. Accordingly, our amendment deals only with the issue of suitable alternative accommodation under the terms of the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 rather than the Rent Act 1977, covering non-agricultural workers. It aims to ensure that the existing right can be honoured: in other words, that properties will be provided for protected tenants when required.

The amendment enables landlords to provide such accommodation when it is needed. This is particularly important when it comes to former agricultural workers who have lifetime security of tenure under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976. It should be noted that it is very common that such workers are moved on retirement to an alternative property owned by the employer, as the particular property they have occupied as part of their job is key to the nature of their work: for example, the dairyman’s house and things like that.

This amendment is in some ways similar to Amendment 62, from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester and the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, which seeks to facilitate the housing of retired clergy. In both cases, the properties required are usually used for employees, but they will be let on the open market for times when they are not required by employees or former employees. Employers need to know that they will be able to regain possession as and when needed, or else they will not let them out. However, the big difference between this amendment and Amendment 62 is that, in the case of Amendment 65, the landlord has a statutory duty to house the employee under existing legislation.

The Bill already acknowledges in new ground 5A the fact that it is critical to certain jobs that an employer can house an incoming agricultural worker. The point of this amendment is to ensure that, when an incoming agricultural worker comes into a property, that property can be made available to the outgoing retired agricultural worker whom the landlord has a statutory duty to House, even after the job has ended.

This amendment is a key part of the mechanism for making way for an incoming agricultural worker, so that a different property can be freed up for the retired outgoing worker. In short, it is like the incoming agricultural worker ground but it is, in effect, an incoming retired agricultural worker whom the landlord has the duty to House. This circumstance could be made a prior notice in an assured tenancy if a fixed tenancy is not allowed. That would mean that PRS tenants would be on notice from the outset that this is the type of house that a landlord usually uses to house employees—incoming or retired—and they may give notice in the future on this ground.

Finally, as I am sure the Minister will point out, there is the possibility, under Section 27 of the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976, of applying to the local authority to have retired agricultural workers housed. This is only in very limited circumstances where the following conditions are fulfilled: the house is occupied by a qualifying worker, protected by the Housing Act 1988 or the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976; it is required for an incoming agricultural worker; the employer cannot by any reasonable means provide alternative accommodation; and the authority ought to provide it in the interests of agricultural efficiency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, once again I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his amendment which would create a new ground for possession, and thank the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Lords, Lord Berkeley of Knighton and Lord Jamieson, for their contributions to this debate. This ground would enable a landlord to seek possession of a tenanted property in order to re-let the property to a person to whom they have a lifetime duty under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or the Housing Act 1988.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his collaborative engagement on this matter and for helping me through his reasoning for the amendment, both in our meeting and his clear explanation in this Chamber. However, our position towards this amendment remains the same. It would go against the general principle of increasing security of tenure for assured tenants that is consistent throughout the Bill.

We do not agree that there is a compelling reason that this particular group of agricultural tenants need to be housed in specific dwellings at the expense of existing assured tenants. Where a landlord has a statutory duty to house an agricultural tenant or their successor, in many cases landlords will be able to move tenants as and when suitable properties become available. Landlords can also use the existing discretionary suitable alternative accommodation ground 9, which the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, mentioned, to move an assured tenant to another property if needed.

The noble Earl, Lord Leicester, referred to the issue of underoccupation, which all landlords face. I certainly faced it as a social landlord when I was a council leader; it is not unique to farming. The idea that mandatory eviction is the answer to this, rather than incentivising people to move on from underoccupied properties, would be a completely new area of legislation to be considered and would be out of scope of this Bill.

The new ground would mean that an existing assured tenant could be evicted through no fault of their own, simply moving the problem around and creating insecurity for tenants. As the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, said, this is similar to the issue we discussed on Tuesday in relation to retired clergy. I understand the distinction that the noble Lord made in relation to the statutory duty, but it is not for a specific property. The issue of just moving the problem around is the same. As such, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

I thank everyone who has contributed, particularly the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, my noble friend Lord Berkeley of Knighton and the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson.

I think we must agree to disagree on this. The Minister, quite rightly, is trying to uphold the essence of the Bill, which is security of tenure for assured tenants, and does not appear to be able to consider the fact that some properties should have a sticker on them saying “prior notice could be given for the occupation of this property”. I think that would be a sensible solution because there are two big things that this Bill does not take account of—no doubt among others.

First, the rural economy is very different from the urban economy. We do not have the housing that is available in the urban economy, and we are going through a revolution in terms of farming. Secondly, and I keep emphasising this, the farmer or landowner has a statutory duty. That was put firmly in an Act passed, I believe, under a Labour Government: the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976. I urge the Government to consider this again, but in the meantime, I withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 65 withdrawn.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 173 in this group. I declare my interest in the private rented sector, with cottage lettings in Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, for tabling Amendment 173, and I am very keen to support it.

The reasoning behind my support is twofold and comes from the desire, which is shared by most, that this Bill be an opportunity to make sizeable reforms to the PRS—not only in tenant security but in improving housing and its management. This is predicated on the need, first, to encourage private long-term institutional investors into the PRS and, secondly, to differentiate between the private rental sector and short-term holiday lets, typified by Airbnb.

The Bill’s proposal that tenants should be able to give notice after only two months of occupation, rather than the four proposed in the amendment, severely limits these objectives as the addition of a two-month notice period means that a tenant might be in residence for only four months, rather than six months, which is the key to bank finance and institutional investment. It is also a question of the balance of fairness between landlord and tenant, as the costs of establishing a tenancy, renovation and redecoration need a longer timeframe for payback than that which the current suggestion would provide.

This is also an important financial point: lenders to the PRS are concerned that mortgage payments will be missed if the revenue stream ends in under six months and will therefore be wary of lending to the sector. The downside to this, over the longer term, is the risk of tenants being trapped. To deal with this issue, a tenancy agreement should include exceptions for mis-selling, poor or unsafe living conditions, breach of PRS ombudsman regulations, death, domestic abuse, et cetera, during the first four months.

It is very important to use this opportunity to increase the supply of housing in the PRS and, at the same time, to increase the standard of the product to conform with the decent homes standard and to raise the standard of management. The key to this is encouraging institutional investment and build-to-rent investors.

BTR—build to rent—is distinct from the broader PRS because BTR homes are new builds which have been constructed specifically for the rented sector, reflecting the priorities of modern renters and funded by institutional investors. BTR results in rental-focused developments that are owned and managed by a single, professional, accountable landlord. This mitigates against many of the issues plaguing the PRS, such as poor-quality homes, unscrupulous landlords and poor value for money. Bringing in private sector institutional investors will increase the rental housing stock and provide high-quality, energy-efficient homes available for long-term rent at affordable cost. However, long-term institutional investors such as pension funds are looking for predictable returns over the long term and are therefore anxious to avoid the risk of short-term tenants, which the Bill may encourage.

The second major issue that arises from serving a two-month notice on the landlord from day one of the tenancy agreement, rather than after a four-month period, as suggested, is that it risks opening a back door to misusing rental homes for short-term two-month lets. If a renter can sign their tenancy and submit their notice on the same day, tenants will be able to use a property meant for long-term rent for short-term purposes. This loophole risks undermining the work done to reduce short-term lets and their social consequences. Legally, a landlord would have no ability to prevent abuse or to prefer a long-term renter and their family. The result would be the loss of rental homes, with fewer local homes available for local residents.

The risk of this misuse is particularly high in the institutional and build-to-rent sector, because of the turnkey attractiveness of these homes. They are built so that they are easy to move into and out of, with good furnishings, free wifi and high-quality facilities.

With this loophole, a landlord could not be sure if their tenant proposed to stay for two months or a significant period. The short-term letting problem represents a barrier to investment in the delivery of new rental homes, as lenders, institutional investors and developers would have no certainty about the occupancy levels and revenue base underpinning the scheme. To address this, in 2023, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee recommended this same amendment that we are suggesting now.

Failure to address this issue will result in a significant loss of investment in new rental homes, as well as an inadvertent upward pressure on rents, particularly in cities, making it harder for people to find homes that they can afford. For the sake of an expanding and healthy PRS, which satisfies a clear market demand for the rental sector, I urge the Minister to consider and accept this amendment.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Jamieson (Con)]

My Lords, in moving Amendment 9, in the name of my noble friend Lady Scott, I will speak also to Amendment 13, in my name and that of my noble friend. These amendments are grounded in a very simple but important principle: when landlords and tenants reach mutual agreement they should be trusted to make arrangements that reflect their individual needs and circumstances. This debate is not about fixed-term tenancies for their own sake; it is about preserving the ability of landlords and tenants to enter into legitimate, mutually agreed contracts that reflect flexibility and choice. If both parties are in agreement, there should be a legal mechanism to support such tenancies.

Amendments 9 and 13 introduce a degree of flexibility into the framework of the Bill, without in any way undermining its core objectives to enhance tenant security and stability in the rental market. Without these amendments the Bill risks reducing the security of tenants. Amendment 9, tabled by my noble friend and supported by noble Lords across the House, would allow fixed-term tenancies to continue, but only where both the landlord and tenant have freely and mutually agreed to such an arrangement.

The Renters’ Rights Bill seeks to strengthen the position of tenants in the rental market. I support these aims but, in our efforts to provide stronger protections, we must also ensure that we do not inadvertently remove tools and options that serve tenants well, particularly where those arrangements are entered into voluntarily and in good faith. Under this proposal the landlord would agree to suspend certain grounds for possession and refrain from rent increases during the fixed term. It strikes a careful and fair balance, giving tenants greater security and predictability while allowing landlords to plan ahead with confidence.

Amendment 13 in my name would ensure that landlords and tenants retain the ability to vary terms of the tenancy by agreement. This is a modest but important provision ensuring that necessary flexibility is not lost under what would otherwise become a rigid and inflexible structure. We cannot predict the future and need to allow scope to enable a tenant and a landlord to mutually agree changes to their agreement to reflect this; for instance, where they both wish to see modifications to the property or to enable a temporary subletting where a tenant is going to be away for a time.

Beyond the immediate relationship between landlord and tenant, this also speaks to something bigger. A modern, dynamic workforce depends on geographic mobility. Working-age adults must be able to move for the opportunity, whether it is a job, an academic course or to support a family. Scrapping the option of a mutually agreed fixed-term tenancy risks restricting that movement and, in turn, limits potential.

We believe that flexibility drives productivity. The economy cannot flourish if people are locked out of areas of opportunity simply because the housing arrangements no longer accommodate short-term needs. This is not just about following a job, it is about making it possible to succeed, wherever life takes you. When we support mobility through flexible, fair rental agreements, we open the door to a future where success is not defined by the postcode of your birth but by your ambition, determination and ability to seize opportunity.

These amendments do not seek to weaken tenant protections—quite the opposite. They create opportunities for tenants to request greater security and encourage landlords to provide it willingly and transparently. In a rental market as diverse and complex as ours, this kind of voluntary flexibility is not just welcome, it is essential. If the Bill is to be a true Renters’ Rights Bill, it must include the right to choose through mutual agreement the housing arrangements that best work for each individual and their family. That is what these amendments seek to enable, and I hope the Minister will give them careful and serious consideration. I beg to move.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my direct interest in the private rented sector with lettings in Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire. I am pleased to support the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, and the noble Lords, Lord Truscott and Lord Jackson, and I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, on her damascene conversion following the previous Renters (Reform) Bill. I hope we will achieve the same with the current Minister. I will not repeat their well-argued points in favour of the amendment but will make the following additional points and reiterations.

I approach the PRS from a rural background, where the average length of a tenancy is around seven years. There is little churn, in view of the long-term nature of the accommodation in rural areas. As a result, assured shorthold and fixed-term tenancies are popular. This is somewhat different from the urban PRS to which this Bill is largely directed. I cannot understand why the Government would object to the continuation of the freedom to contract for a fixed term if both parties agree, particularly as it provides flexibility and certainty to both. The landlord gets his guaranteed rent and the tenant can negotiate additional conditions such no rent reviews for a certain period, improvements and security for the term.

In Germany there are two types of tenancy: indefinite and fixed-term. Fixed-term tenancies have move-in and move-out clauses and neither party is obliged to renew. Minimum rental periods in Germany, whether indefinite or fixed, can be up to two years. The German system shows that the assured and fixed-term tenancies can work well together. The ability to contract for a fixed term also has the effect of reducing rental pressure in the overall market as longer-term tenancies act as a natural brake on rising rental costs as there are fewer opportunities to increase the rent.

Another major advantage of retaining fixed-term tenancies is that it gives confidence to buy-to-let lenders and to institutional investors, because mortgage payments are more secure, as is the financial return to the institutional investor. These are the types of landlord we should now be encouraging if the PRS is to grow and the problems of bad individual landlords are to be minimised, because they tend to employ professional management and to produce a better product. I urge the Government to look again at this matter.

[Lord Truscott (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the erudite speech of the noble Lord, Lord Carrington. I remind the Committee of my interest as a long-standing landlord and former tenant in the private rented sector.

Why do the Government insist that they know best when a majority of both tenants and landlords want fixed tenancies? That is a fact. The Minister quoted surveys earlier, but opinions have been sought and that is the case for both tenants and landlords. The Minister has never really explained why the Government think they know more and better than the people primarily affected. Is it a case of groupthink? I support Amendments 9 and 13, proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook. The Government should not, in my view, interfere in an agreement between two or more consenting adults.

Renters (Reform) Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 15th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in the rural private rental sector, as set out in the register. I thank the Minister for her time in briefing me, as well as all the organisations that have also sent me such excellent briefs. I thank all noble Lords who have iterated many of the points that I will make.

I welcome this Bill, including the removal of the sometimes misused Section 21 for the ending of tenancies. The Bill attempts to balance the interests of tenants and landlords, to both improve the letting experience of tenants and to secure the future of the PRS through protecting the possession rights of landlords. The Bill deals with a wide spectrum of industry interests and characteristics, and is principally demand-driven. Sadly, it is unable to address the underlying supply problem of insufficient housing, which has a direct effect on the availability and cost of rental properties—points made by the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, and many others. In the five or more years that we have been waiting for the Bill, the supply of rental accommodation has worsened. Hamptons has calculated that there were 43% fewer homes available for tenants to rent in the first 10 months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2015.

Leaving aside the supply of housing, another major challenge facing the Bill is the perceived inadequacy of the court system, which, of course, is not under the control of DLUHC. I would be most grateful if the Minister could assure us that the two ministries involved are united in their efforts to make the necessary reforms.

The abolition of Section 21, under which some unfair evictions have taken place, involves the reform of the court system and the efficiency and timeliness of procedures under Section 8. Although Section 21 notices are now referred to as no-fault evictions, they are typically used for justifiable reasons, including rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, or landlords needing to sell or move back into a property. It is the unjustifiable reasons, such a landlord seeking to up the rent or failing to properly maintain a property, that have brought it into disrepute. Currently, Section 21 is being used as a substitute for other methods to secure possession because it is easier and quicker. Its abolition will add to the court’s workload under Section 8.

The loss of Section 21 notices means the loss of the ability to issue accelerated possession proceedings. There is therefore a practical fear on the part of landlords that, without reform, the courts will be even more overwhelmed and will not be able to deal with cases in a reasonable time. This is a major reason for landlords exiting the sector.

The Government are now committed to abolishing Section 21, but only when reforms are made to the court system, including the need to increase resources and ensure a timelier resolution of justified possession cases. In addition, in order to secure fairness for both tenants and landlords, a properly functioning justice system is essential. This involves access to and funding for housing and legal aid, as well as the courts. Landlords and tenants need to be able to enforce their legal rights in a timely and efficient manner.

Reviews, reports and surveys are all part of the reform process, but there is an absence of published information on the metrics of improvement. This all resembles the age-old question: how long is a piece of string? Please can the Minister give us a timeline, and even consider a drop-dead date, for the abolition of Section 21? What are the parameters for an improved court system?

My other concern is the proposal to make all tenancies assured periodic tenancies. With the abolition of Section 21, there is no need to abolish fixed-term tenancies or assured shorthold tenancies. The Government, by accepting the minimum term of six months, whereby a tenant can serve two months’ notice at the end of the first four-month period, concede the importance of securing landlord and lender confidence to make private renting financially viable. The problem is that, for some tenants and landlords, six months is too short, bearing in mind the favourable terms that can be negotiated under these agreements.

Last year, the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee agreed a strange statement, indicating that

“fixed-term tenancies should remain available where both parties want them, but … given the current shortage of private rental properties, this would likely result in tenants having fixed terms forced on them”.

This is plain wrong. No one is forcing a fixed term on anyone. A landlord cannot and should not be held responsible and suffer for a lack of housing supply that is out of his control. That would be a very good reason for exiting the business, whereas, conversely, the continuation of fixed terms for a year or more would stop more landlords exiting the private sector.

As other noble Lords have said, fixed-term tenancies suit many landlords and private renters, and have the attraction of solid security of tenure that allows the landlord to gain possession in mid-term only in the case of anti-social behaviour and non-payment of rent. If a landlord fails to adhere to his obligations, including the proposed decent homes standard, the tenant should be able to terminate the tenancy with the advice and support of the local authority. This could also be dealt with by amendment to Section 30 of the Housing Act 1988.

Since the late 1980s, ASTs have worked well for most tenants and landlords. They are based on the freedom of contract between consenting parties. The average tenancy length in the most recent English housing survey was 4.3 years. Allowing tenants to fix a longer period that suits them is in a tenant’s best interest—surely a vote of confidence in the system. There is a place for them in the new world, albeit as an option open to both parties if they wish to fix a term rather than accept the new norm of periodic tenancies. At the end of the fixed term, the tenancy would revert to being a periodic tenancy, but surely there should be an option for the landlord and tenant, if they agree, to opt out of this periodic tenancy and agree a further fixed term.

At Third Reading in the other place, as referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Frost, several Members raised the abolition of ASTs leading to some landlords moving to short-term lets and the holiday-let market. The amendment of the MP for Totness asked for a fixed-term tenancy option, but it was not called, although it had secured 50 signatures of support, as well as a powerful speech at the end of the debate from Sir Christopher Chope regretting the move away from privity of contract. He also warned of the potential loss of housing available to rent and the likely increased cost.

My third major concern with this legislation is much the same as that of the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, but I am pleased to say that the Government have largely accepted that it is a problem: that is, the housing of agricultural and other workers in the rural context, where housing, particularly affordable housing, may be in short supply. Access to affordable accommodation is a key part of rural employment, and we should remember that 85% of rural businesses are not farming or forestry. In Schedule 1 to the Bill there are listed the various grounds for possession, which partly cover my concern, but I will be supporting various amendments to strengthen these clauses, which are so important in the rural economy.

I welcome much that is in the Bill, from the new decent homes standard to the creation of a private rental property portal and an ombudsman scheme that will, I hope, resolve matters that might otherwise go to court. However, student letting requires more amendment, including measures to allow flexibility for students to alter accommodation arrangements during the academic year.

This Bill has many of the right ingredients for reform of the PRS, but there is room for sensible refinement to enable both landlords and tenants to be comfortable at the same time as ensuring that the supply of housing for rent is not threatened but encouraged. In parallel, government should concentrate on housing supply, particularly in the social and affordable sectors, as mentioned by many other noble Lords.

Long-term Plan for Housing

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My noble friend makes two very good points. England has a proud history of new town development, and well-planned, beautifully designed, locally led garden communities are playing a vital role in helping to meet our housing need, through providing a stable pipeline of new homes. The Garden Communities programme supports local authorities to build places that people are happy to call their home. That programme was launched in 2014, and has awarded over £58 million of capacity funding to assist places to deliver their proposals for housing. A further £12 million has also been invested to deliver the infrastructure critical to unblock the delivery of homes. The 47 locally led garden communities have the capacity to deliver over 300,000 new homes by 2050. That is something that the Government absolutely continue to support.

The number of planning consents being down was referenced by the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor. When it comes to the wider conditions in the housing market, we recognise that this is a challenging time. The broader economic conditions we face due to very high levels of inflation, and the high interest rates that are in place to bring that down, make it harder for people to get on the housing ladder. That is why this Government have been focused, laser-like, on tackling inflation. We met our commitment last year to halve the level of inflation, and are back on the road to the Bank of England’s 2% target. That is the most effective way in which we can make sure that people are able to afford their mortgages and access the housing market in the way they wish to. But there are also important things that we can do—for example, ensuring that our affordable housing programme continues throughout this period to provide more stability and certainty in terms of the pipeline of new homes while it is a difficult market out there for housebuilders.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, may I ask the Minister, following on from the question from the right reverend Prelate, about the certificates—the EPCs? We have had a problem and a review on EPC measurement. Could she let us know where we are on that review?

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 13th September 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Carrington]

246: After Clause 128, insert the following new Clause—
“Compulsory purchase orders: duty of care(1) The Secretary of State must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, publish a duty of care which applies to acquiring authorities involved in compulsory purchase orders, within six months of the day on which this Act is passed.(2) The duty of care must involve, but is not limited to, obligations on the acquirer to—(a) only acquire the land they demonstrate is necessary,(b) mitigate the impact of the scheme on claimants,(c) pay for the land taken at date of entry or vesting, and(d) ensure that all communication with the claimant is conducted in accordance with the Government’s guidance on compulsory purchase orders.”Member's explanatory statement
This amendment will introduce a duty of care that considers the impacts on rural businesses when their land is acquired through compulsory purchase orders.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in landownership as set out in the register.

Somewhat reluctantly, I am retabling the amendment from Committee stage, despite the very helpful response that I received from the Minister. Amendment 246, which I propose with the support of my noble friend Lord Lytton and the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, involves the Secretary of State establishing a statutory duty of care setting out the obligations of the acquiring authority in a compulsory purchase situation. That would strengthen the obligation of the acquirer to consider, and possibly reduce, the impact of a compulsory purchase proposal on the claimant, their property and their business. The intention is to safeguard owners against the excesses of the acquiring authorities, many of which are large companies or government bodies.

The Minister, in her response, pointed to the guidance that is already in place for acquiring authorities to treat claimants with respect by undertaking early negotiations to identify what measures can be taken to mitigate the proposed schemes’ impact on land- owners. However, although the guidance is there, it really needs strengthening due to the lack of resources at acquiring authority level to understand fully and implement that guidance. A duty of care resulting from a statutory instrument will give a greater level of protection to those under threat of compulsory purchase and ensure that the acquiring authority considers it as a matter of first priority.

I cannot emphasize enough the appalling experience that greets the property owner affected by compulsory purchase. Some lose their whole property, while many others lose only a proportion, but the whole property suffers from the impacts of construction, which may go on for many years or decades, with the owner having to maintain a viable business throughout that time.

The acquirers’ responsibility is to compensate the land or business owner for their loss, but this is nearly always paid after the land has been taken, in some cases many years thereafter. This delay only adds to the loss. Anyone who has been affected by HS2, which includes me, knows exactly what I mean.

Property owners who are affected by compulsory purchase feel that their interests are often ignored by acquirers keen to deliver the scheme together with any environmental mitigation but with little consideration for the person or business that occupies that land. The statutory duty of care to consider and mitigate the impact on landowners and businesses impacted by the scheme, on top of government guidance on compulsory purchase, would rebalance the interests of delivering the scheme and reduce the impact. It would not delay or prevent schemes and could assist them by avoiding legal battles on interpretation of the guidance. It would also ensure that impacts on property owners and businesses are considered as a key part of the scheme, rather than being an afterthought considered only when compensation is due sometime later.

I hope the Minister will accept that this is a constructive amendment, designed to take much of the aggravation out of compulsory purchase while enabling sensible schemes to progress with greater consideration of the interests and livelihood of the owner. I beg to move.

[The Earl of Lytton (CB)]

My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, and am a signatory to this amendment. I commend him for his succinct explanation. I also have land interests and some professional familiarity with compulsory purchase.

I have very little to add, but I simply say that the use of CPO powers, and the number of bodies exercising them directly or indirectly, is expanding. It risks subsuming the interests of the individual owner from whom rights are being compulsorily wrested. Some acquiring bodies have overriding commercial objectives, possibly only indirectly aimed at the promotion of public best interest, and I think we should be aware of that. Moreover, many of the safeguards built into the processes when they were used by what I will call the traditional acquiring authorities—for instance, government agencies, local government and so on—seem no longer to be entirely honoured in spirit. That is very important, particularly as we have an expanded use of CPO powers.

The amendment is thus a natural, logical and necessary safeguard for owners who are subject to these powers. They would, inter alia, deal with the evils of entry and taking of land without concurrent payment of compensation. That arrangement leaves a claimant on the back foot in negotiations, prejudiced financially and reorganising their affairs. Failure to adhere to the principles behind this amendment suggests a material erosion of the protocols that are familiar to us under the Human Rights Act—for the reasonable enjoyment of a citizen’s property not to be deprived without due process and for the rules-based system. That is why I support this amendment.

--- Later in debate ---

This amendment would add duplication and complexity to the CPO process, which is contrary to the Government’s objectives. I trust I have given the House reassurance that Amendment 246 is unnecessary and that the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, is able to withdraw it.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

I am delighted to receive that response from the Minister. I thank everybody who has taken part in this debate for the general support that I appear to have received from everybody who has spoken. It all comes down to the guidance and the enforcement of that guidance, and it is particularly welcome to hear that the update is currently under way. I think we will all look forward to seeing how that pans out. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 246 withdrawn.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Anderson of Ipswich (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister said, in introducing the amendments, that they were carefully targeted and specific. With great respect to her, she could scarcely have chosen less appropriate adjectives for the Henry VIII clause that she seeks to introduce through Amendment 247YY. It is astonishingly broad, even by modern standards, as my noble and learned friend Lord Hope said. To give the House a flavour, it allows the Secretary of State to make any provision that they consider “appropriate” about the operation of any relevant enactment connected to the effects of nutrients and water that could affect a habitat’s site. Relevant enactments include all Acts of Parliament, including the future one we are debating today.

I will add a few other points on that clause to those made by my noble and learned friend. The Delegated Powers Committee, under the chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord McLoughlin, has stated that such broad Henry VIII powers must always be fully justified—all the more so, one might think, when they are introduced at the last moment without any public consultation or parliamentary scrutiny. The committee also said that inadequate justification for such exceptionally wide powers had been given and recommended, in terms, that this clause should not form part of the Bill.

The position has not improved since then. The explainer circulated on Monday had nothing to say about the clause at all, although I and others raised it with Ministers last week. In fairness, the Minister said that she had written to the committee today, but the letter did not appear on its website when I checked 10 minutes ago, and I have no reason to suppose that the committee has changed its mind.

We cannot get into the habit of passing clauses such as this one without the clearest and most compelling reasons for them. This clause may have been conceived as a fail-safe in hastily prepared legislation, but its effect is to abdicate the influence of Parliament altogether over substantial and important areas of policy. Why would we sign up to that? The Minister undertook that these delegated powers would be used sparingly, and I do not doubt her good intentions. However, with respect to her, no such undertaking can have any value when the clause will expire not in this Parliament or the next, but in the Parliament after that, on 31 March 2030. I see every reason to follow the recommendation of the Delegated Powers Committee and to vote against the addition of the amendment.

There is a practical, as well as a constitutional, reason why I propose to vote against the amendment. If those who wish to oppose the main amendment—Amendment 247YYA—are successful, they will also need to exclude this clause because, if we do not, the powers that it grants will be quite broad enough to allow the Government simply to reintroduce the substantive measures by secondary legislation, or indeed to do anything else that they might wish to do in this general area, without Parliament having the power to amend it or, in practice, to block it. As I said, that is true not only of this Government but of the next Government and the one after that.

I was relieved to hear that my noble and learned friend Lord Hope will not press his probing amendment, because, as he said, it is inadequate to meet the problems identified by the Delegated Powers Committee. Like him, I am not content with Amendment 247YY and, if it is put to a Division, I will vote to exclude it.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in farming as set out in the register. I will add one or two comments to those made by the noble Baronesses, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, Lady Parminter and Lady McIntosh, on the progress made on nutrient neutrality, its effect on the farming community and the wish not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

It appears that the Government are concerned that the speed of the supply of mitigation options is holding up planning consents. Has the Minister considered the possibility of delaying the requirement for developers to have nutrient mitigation in place to a defined date after build, rather than before building commences, as is currently the case? This would ensure that existing processes and tools are kept in place and not wasted, and that those who have invested in mitigation schemes are not left with stranded assets—for example, many local planning authorities have purchased land and farmers have invested heavily in feasibility and planning works. In maintaining the emphasis on requiring developers to fund the measures, the essence is that the polluter must pay.

[Lord Cormack (Con)]

My Lords, briefly, I associate myself with the remarks made in a very fine speech by my noble friend Lord Deben. We entered the other place on the same day, in June 1970—I have been here continuously since, and my noble friend was briefly absent from the other place for a year or so. I think that we both feel exactly the same: a deep sense of shame that the Conservative Party should behave like this. I thought that I had got over feeling ashamed after the two last disastrous Conservative Prime Ministers. I have a great feeling of support for our present Prime Minister, but I am deeply saddened. It must be because he does not have the long parliamentary experience to see how Parliament should be treated by the Executive. This is no way to legislate.

On this extraordinary Bill, I pay genuine tribute to the stamina and energy of my noble friend the Minister. If anyone ever drew a short straw, she drew a whole packet full and got one free. She has behaved impeccably, but she has been landed with something that no Minister should be landed with: a Bill, at its very last stage, being added to in such a way without proper consultation or discussion.

This does not need to part of this Bill. If the Government believe there is a problem over house building and the environment, it can bring in another Bill in the King’s Speech that can have a proper Second Reading in the other place. It will not get scrutiny in the other place; Bills do not get it there these days. It could then go through all the necessary processes and be through before the end of the next parliamentary session.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 6th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in farming and land ownership, as set out in the register.

The reason for retabling Amendment 221 is to question the Minister on her response in Committee. I thoroughly understand that permissions in principle are currently used only in respect of housing developments. She explained that our National Planning Policy Framework strongly supports policies and decisions to promote sustainable development in rural areas and support a prosperous rural economy. She confirmed that local plans and neighbourhood plans should enable the development and diversification of agriculture and other land-based rural businesses.

However, many question the noble Baroness’s rather negative assessment of the amendment’s utility in creating rural economic development. I would be most grateful if she could expand on why it is unnecessary and would not work. My point is that although the National Planning Policy Framework strongly supports policies and decisions to promote sustainable development in rural areas, the planning system is so underresourced that it is not filtering through into local decision-making. It therefore seems highly desirable that the permission in principle route is extended to rural economic development and not just housing.

Let me reiterate the purpose and advantages of permissions in principle in the rural business context. The rural economy is 19% less productive than the national average, and for this gap to be closed, the countryside needs more rural economic development so that it can grow sustainably. Businesses are put off submitting planning applications to grow their businesses because of the risk of putting capital up front with an uncertain outcome. Planning applications are costly, risky and take a lot of time to submit.

The permission in principle route splits a planning application into two stages: the first stage is high level and sets out the principle of the development to be approved by the planners. The second stage, which involves the cost, is to confirm the technical details. Extending the permission in principle to rural economic development reduces the resources required to process applications and creates certainty as to what is required at the technical stage.

In her response in Committee, the Minister agreed to take the issue back and consider with officials how we can strengthen economic development in those rural areas. Perhaps the new discussion of this amendment will encourage her further to grant this request. If more applications were submitted and approved for rural economic development, businesses would grow, creating more employment opportunities and adding more to local rural economies. This sounds like an easy win in the levelling-up process.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, before making a point about the amendment, I acknowledge that my noble friend on the Front Bench rightly feels a little blindsided by it. I apologise to her for that. I am a newbie on the Back Benches and I clearly have much to learn about the process here. In my defence, I shared my plans and the wording of the amendment with my friend the Secretary of State who, I am pleased to say, was excited by much of the contents, although not all of it.

I will be brief because this proposal is relatively simple and, in many respects, speaks for itself. Before I describe it, I will heap praise and thanks on a campaigner who is simply formidable. I am pleased that she is in the Gallery today, probably holding a swift box. Hannah Bourne-Taylor has single-handedly made what for many people appears to be a niche concern into a national campaign—not least by walking naked through London painted as a swift and causing quite a stir, as noble Lords can imagine. She has turned this into a national cause. It is because of her that this amendment exists.

Back in 2002 the British Trust for Ornithology cited the loss of cavity nesting sites as the key factor in the decline of cavity-nesting urban birds. Since then, four species—house martins, starlings, swifts and house sparrows—have been added to the dreaded red list of species of particular concern that, crudely speaking, face extinction. Worst hit among them are house martins. When I was preparing my notes, I was going to say that there has been a 37% decline, but I have since discovered that the figure is even worse at 50%. Swifts too have suffered horrifically; their breeding population declined by 60% between 1995 and 2020. That number continues to sink.

Despite broad agreement, not just in this place or the other place but across the whole country, that the UK—one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet—requires urgent action or to introduce emergency measures to turn around these trends, the reality is that nothing of any real substance has yet been done. The problem, as noble Lords no doubt know well, is that sites for cavity-nesting creatures such as swifts have simply been lost. It is not because of evil or malign intent but because of repairs, house modernisation and even insulation—something of which we all in this House would like to see much more.

This simple proposal to include swift bricks in new builds is key. It is not just about providing a supporting hand to a species in trouble; it is critical, indeed essential. Modern new-build homes are simply not designed to accommodate nature. Swifts in particular rely completely on cavities, as noble Lords know. Without those, there are no safe or permanent nesting sites for them in Britain. Without manmade cavities in this sense, those birds have no future in this country. It is crazy, and something I learned only recently, that the simple swift brick is not even included in the biodiversity net gains metric.

The amendment that we are here to discuss today could not be much simpler. The swift brick is a zero-maintenance solution. It is just a brick in a wall that can be added to a building as any other brick could. For a refurb or a new build, it is cheap; it costs £30 or thereabouts. We know that they work because, wherever they have been tried and installed, they have worked. Surveys conducted on, for example, the Duchy estates, where swift bricks have been installed in numerous buildings, have resulted in a staggering 96% occupancy rate. Even that number continues to grow.

Obviously, not all the bricks are used by swifts. I have heard that as one of the counterarguments—“What about other creatures using these boxes?”—to which my answer is, “So what?”. Heaven forbid that a house sparrow might decide to use one of these swift boxes. Who would not be filled with joy at the prospect? It just seems to me to be such a non-argument as to almost not merit discussion.

If this amendment is adopted—I really beseech colleagues to support it—and it becomes national policy to ensure installation of these magical, simple, cheap bricks in all new homes, it will not only help counter the tragic loss of cavity-nesting birds but directly help the Government themselves meet what are, let us remember, legally binding targets to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. This measure has unanimous support—not all measures do—from ornithologists, all of whom agree and have gone to great lengths to explain that there is no downside.

By the way, swifts do not eat vegetation; they eat insects. They particularly enjoy mosquitoes and eat mountainous volumes of them, so there is yet another bonus to encouraging swifts in and around our homes. I am told that they also do not leave droppings; there is a reason for that, which I will not go into. I am sure that the expert up in the Gallery will know, but they do not leave droppings underneath their nest boxes. They tidy up—I will tell noble Lords what they do; they eat them, I am afraid, probably to recycle the mineral content. I do not know why, but for whatever reason they remove them. They are very tidy, conscientious and thoughtful creatures.

This amendment is also flexible for developers. Those I have heard from are all supportive. One major housebuilder, Thakeham, has actively appealed for an industry-wide commitment. Very recently the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss voted to include swift bricks in all new builds. In the Netherlands, swift bricks are already installed as a mitigation measure.

There have been suggestions, and I understand where they have come from, that this should be a voluntary measure. I get that; no one wants excessive bureaucracy and mandates. But I am afraid we know that this has not worked. It is not through lack of caring: who does not want to see swifts flying in and around—maybe not in—their homes and gardens? Who does not feel better, frankly, when they have greater proximity to nature?

In fact, a petition that was initiated by Hannah in the Gallery attracted 110,000 signatures—

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 18th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I support Amendment 139, to which I have added my name. I declare an interest as a member of the South Downs National Park Authority and vice-chair of the APPG for National Parks.

As we discussed in Committee and as the noble Baroness has eloquently introduced today, the amendment addresses the legislative deficit identified right back in 2019 by the Government-commissioned Landscapes Review, which was chaired by Julian Glover. The review identified the huge potential of national parks to deliver the Government’s ambitions for nature recovery, but it also recognised that, as currently constituted, national parks are restricted in the role that they can play and the interventions that they can make.

At the time, the Government accepted the vast majority of the review’s proposals. They also made it clear that they understood that it would require legislation, and we have been waiting for that legislation ever since. This matters, because the national parks and other protected landscapes have a critical role to play in meeting the COP 15 and environmental improvement plan targets of delivering 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. As we know, and as we can realise, that is an increasingly desperate challenge, given our low starting point and with only seven years left to reach that target.

It makes absolute sense to start with the sites that can be upgraded relatively quickly. Protected landscapes cover about 25% of land in England, and they are the obvious place to start if we are serious about delivering the targets. There is widespread support for this approach from the national parks themselves and from the environmental NGOs. We also heard in Committee that a number of eminent scientists and advisers also support this approach.

This Bill was identified by the Government some time ago as the best vehicle for making these changes, so it has been a huge source of frustration that the issues have not been progressed in it. It is now four years since the Landscapes Review report and 18 months since the Government’s response. The irony is that there is—apart from the noble Baroness’s contribution just now—widespread agreement about what needs to be done and the statutory underpinning that is necessary.

Our amendment would give national parks and AONBs new purposes to actively recover nature, tackle climate change and connect more diverse groups to nature. Crucially, it would strengthen the duty on public bodies not just to have regard to those purposes but to further them. That might sound like semantics, but it is a huge difference in terms of statutory obligations. We have seen all too often in the past that “having regard to” is not taken seriously by other public bodies and allows them to ride roughshod over the priorities of the national parks. I shall give a quick example: it allowed National Highways, when drawing up its proposals for the A27 Arundel bypass, to say it had “had regard to” the South Downs National Park’s objections without demonstrating how that had in any way impacted on its eventual recommendations. There are many more such examples. The point is that the current requirement to “have regard to” is not having any effect. Our amendment would make sure that the targets and actions of public bodies’ management further the purposes that we are now proposing, and indeed are published.

When we discussed this issue in Committee, there was huge cross-party support. In his response at the time, the Minister referred to strengthening the biodiversity duty on public bodies such as national parks and the ambitious environmental targets that have been set. However, what is the point of piling obligations and targets on national parks when they do not have the authority to deliver on them?

The Minister also suggested that the new guidance arising from the Environment Act would deliver the Glover review objectives. The noble Baroness, Lady Willis, has done a very good demolition job on how ridiculous that is, given the wording of the guidance that has come out so far.

If there is a problem with our amendment, can the Minister tell us what it is that he does not like about it? I contend that it is completely in line with the Government’s thinking and their own response to the landscape review. Meanwhile, we are running out of road and out of time to resolve this issue. I hope the Minister has some good news for us today and the Government plan to back our amendment or come back with their own amendment which would achieve the same objectives.

I have listened carefully to the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, on her intention to introduce a third purpose. I found it slightly ironic that she criticised us for adding new purposes to the national parks, given that she has now come up with a different one. You cannot have it both ways. However, I have some sympathy with her argument about rural communities. In fact, the government response to the original landscape review stressed that. We agree that support for rural communities is important, but a new statutory purpose is not the way to achieve it. An economic third purpose would duplicate the roles of the economic development bodies and the local partnership authorities, which already have this responsibility, so I question the direction the noble Baroness is going in.

More importantly, I am anxious to hear the Minister’s response, and I hope he has some good news for us this evening.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in farming and land ownership as set out in the register. I am also a farmer and landowner in the Chilterns AONB.

I am enthusiastic in my support for Amendments 272 and 273, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, and I have considerable reservations about Amendment 139. This is due to the experience of how changes in the financial support of farming have affected the profitability of farming in marginal land and the consequent need for diversification of farming businesses in the Chilterns AONB—and probably in all the others. Farming is not the only business in these areas. I cannot give precise figures, but nationally, 23% of all businesses are based in the countryside and 85% of these are not in farming or forestry.

The inclusion of these two amendments would ensure that promoting the economic and social well-being of local communities and businesses in national parks and AONBs is assured. These amendments are not limited to business but cover concerns that arise about the provision of affordable and small-scale housing developments in villages, as well as community facilities and the like. Failure to promote and allow economic and social progress in these areas will also encourage people to go ahead with unapproved activities in their buildings, which could be both damaging and short-sighted for the community and themselves. These amendments would not undermine the existing purposes but strengthen the first purpose and reduce the risk of continuing the existing one-dimensional approach, which prevents the diversification that could feed into the financial resource required to conserve and enhance these landscapes and ensure overall sustainability.

Businesses that produce natural landscapes need to evolve to adapt to the challenges of climate change and migration to the countryside, as do the land managers who deliver nature recovery. Environmental considerations currently overrule economic and social decision-making, resulting in a lack of a sustainable flow of funds for businesses. This is weakening the current recovery of nature and the aim of connecting more people to the natural world and tackling climate change.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 11th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, I support the other amendments in this group, but I am particularly grateful to my noble friend Lord Shipley for pointing out that the “geographical disparities” referred to in his amendment will cover disparities between urban and rural areas. It is those disparities that have led me to table the two amendments in my name—Amendments 10 and 303—and I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his support.

Only yesterday, the Rural Coalition produced a document urging all political parties to do more to help rural areas. The document, A Better Future for Rural England, called for a sea-change in the way rural areas are perceived and treated. It argues that achieving the economic and social growth envisaged

“will only prove possible if there is a sustained implementation effort led by central Government and made across Whitehall departments. Much of that effort will need to focus upon addressing the structural inequalities, fragile infrastructure and economic weaknesses which characterise and hold back rural areas”.

Sadly, calls to give rural areas a better deal are not new. For example, in 2015 the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, was commissioned by the Government to review the way in which the development of government policies took account of rural communities. Responding to his recommendations, the then Secretary of State, Liz Truss, said:

“This Government is committed to ensuring the interests of rural communities and businesses are accounted for within our policies and programmes”.


Subsequently, the Government produced a booklet called Rural Proofing: Practical Guidance to Consider Impacts of Policies on Rural Areas. It was updated recently and part of the update states:

“It is important that government policies consider how they can be delivered in rural areas”.


The booklet explains:

“This document helps policy makers and analysts in government to consider how to achieve the outcomes they want from their policies in rural areas. This is called rural proofing”.


In 2019, I chaired one of your Lordships’ Select Committees on the rural economy. One of our key recommendations was that rural proofing should be beefed up even further. The Government actually said they were going to do that and then said that they were going to produce a report about how they were doing it every two years. On the basis of all that, one would expect that by now rural areas would be faring at least as well as urban areas or at least were well on the way.

Sadly, the reality is incredibly different. There is a huge disparity in the cost of living between urban and rural areas. In rural areas, house prices are higher but wages are lower. Council taxes are higher, but government support for their councils is lower. Funding per head on many services, from healthcare to public transport, is lower but it costs more to provide those services. From broadband coverage to banking, rural areas lag way behind urban ones.

Only today, many noble Lords will have received a briefing from the NFU on rural crime, which states:

“The NFU recognise that crime is crime wherever it takes place. However, rural crime is very different from urban crime. The scale, cost, social impact, and other effects of crime in rural areas are underestimated, under-reported and not fully understood”.


The briefing noted, for example, that the current funding formula means that in the area where I live, Suffolk, we get £114 per resident from the Home Office grant, whereas if you go to Merseyside, you get £217. So the Rural Services Network, using government metrics, concluded that if all rural areas were brought together and treated as a single region, their need for levelling up would be greater than for any other region. But to make matters worse, Defra has produced its rural proofing report. Indeed, its most recent one, the 2022 report, amazingly and despite its title provides no evidence whatever of rural proofing procedures outlined in the guidance being followed. The Rural Services Network concluded:

“Nowhere … is anything evidenced anywhere to show if these processes were followed”.


During our deliberations, I asked on two separate occasions whether a Minister could tell me whether those rural proofing processes were carried out in relation to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. I have had no response. Now, in fairness, various Ministers have attempted to allay my fears. For instance, when I last raised it, the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, responded with three examples of very good things that the Government have done. First, she was very proud to boast of the £110 million rural England prosperity fund, failing to point out that that is simply a continuation of the previous scheme, the EU structural investment programme fund. So there is no extra money there.

Then we had the great example of the extended subsidy scheme for buses—£250 million, of which £20 million is going to the whole of rural England, whereas £20 million will be given for bus priority measures in just the West Midlands, and £50 million for the first all-electric bus town. But the ultimate example that I was given was that I should be really pleased that the Government had given some rural energy support—extra funding for rural areas. But when you analyse it, what is that? That is for the nearly 1 million people who are off the gas and electricity grid, who predominantly live in rural areas. And what happened? They got the extra money ages after the previous scheme had been introduced. They had to wait for a lifetime for it. Surely that is real evidence of rural proofing not having taken place.

So I hope I might get an answer to the question today of how the Bill has been rurally proofed. If not, we can fall back on the two amendments that I have put down. Amendment 303 simply requires that that answer be provided before the Act is implemented. Amendment 10 deals with mission statements and seeks to embed rural proofing in them, requiring

“a rural proofing report detailing the ways in which the levelling-up missions have regard to their impact on rural areas and will address the needs of rural communities”.

That is a pretty simple request, given that it is meant to be government policy anyway.

I believe it makes sense to take the steps outlined in these amendments, to make meaningful rural proofing a fundamental part of all levelling-up policy development, delivery and outcomes monitoring. Ideally, I would like to go even further, as they have already done in Northern Ireland, where rural proofing is on a much stronger legal footing. But that is perhaps for another day.

I hope we will not have to take these two amendments to a vote, because I hope we are going to get an answer to the question that I am now asking for the third time.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my rural interests as set out in the register. It gives me great pleasure to support the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, on Amendment 10, as well as consequential Amendment 303. As he has said, he has been deeply involved in promoting rural issues for many years. Although progress has been made, in particular with the recent publication of the report Unleashing Rural Opportunity, there is a long way to go to address the disparity in productivity between urban and rural areas, which can differ by as much as 18%. We need to take into account issues such as housing, connectivity, transport and energy costs and it seems clear that, economically and socially, there is much more to be done.

The noble Lord, Lord Foster, mentioned many of the reports that have been written and the actions that have followed. I add two reports from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse, on which I sit. One was an inquiry into rural productivity and the rural premium, which explored the impact of the cost of living crisis in rural areas, the other an inquiry into rural productivity. Many organisations whose remit involves rural affairs contributed to these reports, including the CPRE, the CLA, the NFU, the Rural Services Network, the Federation of Small Businesses, Citizens Advice’s Rural Issues Group and many more.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 18th May 2023 Lords Chamber

We must not forget that these three amendments lie at the heart of the Government’s responsibilities to their citizens: a place to live in relative safety. This is a crisis, and it is in the Government’s gift to prioritise it in the Bill by adopting Amendment 341. I ask the Minister to agree to these amendments to prioritise affordable housing as a fast track to solving the crisis.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I support the amendments in the names of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, and the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow. I declare my rural interests.

My particular angle of support relates to the importance of the provision of sufficient rural affordable housing, which is a huge gap in housing provision, as identified in two reports from the APPG for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse, of which I declare my membership. These reports concentrated on levelling up in the countryside and the impact of the cost of living crisis in rural areas.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

Forgive me; I may be mistaken, but I do not think that the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, was here at the start of this debate on the last occasion.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

I was.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I apologise; the noble Lord is not in my notes. I will accept his word that he was.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

Citizens Advice and others have pointed to provision of rural housing being a growing problem and a significant barrier to the rural economy, as the average house price can be up to 10% of average earnings, compared with 7.4% in urban areas, excluding London.

Navigating the planning system has always been a problem in rural areas, and larger building providers have been the most successful. CPRE, the countryside charity, has pointed out that successful housing applications tended to be in a very narrow segment of the market—the upper to middle end, which does not favour renters, first-time buyers and affordable housing.

The Government are prioritising the development of brownfield sites, which is certainly laudable, but 87% of these are in urban areas and often in the south-east. However, the economic impact of small developments and, in particular, affordable housing in rural communities can make a huge difference in supporting businesses and communities in terms of employment and other activities. It would also assist with the growing problem of rural homelessness, as identified by Shelter and other charities.

These amendments make strategic housing and market assessments of affordable housing compulsory, and influencing the rate of the infrastructure levy would be of great benefit to the sensible provision of affordable housing in rural areas.

[Lord Lansley (Con)]

I want briefly to refer to the clause stand part notice tabled by my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham and I for a probing purpose. Clause 126 has the effect of retaining the community infrastructure levy in London and Wales, but I will not talk about Wales. We are leaving Wales out of it for these purposes. The clause retains the community infrastructure levy in London, alongside the introduction of the infrastructure levy. I understand that that is essentially because the mayoral CIL has been used for the provision of Crossrail and is expected to do so for years to come.

However, it has raised in our minds a question to ask my noble friend the Minister about whether the community infrastructure levy, which of course does not provide for affordable housing, can live alongside the infrastructure levy for a number of years. The technical consultation, which is to be concluded on 9 June, does not explain how the respective contributions are to be assessed in a combined fashion because they apply to different parameters of the development. That leads to the assumption that with a 10-year transition we are looking at many places across the country with a combination of community infrastructure levy obligations that have arisen in relation to developments over a number of years and past developments, alongside the introduction of the infrastructure levy. The technical consultation, to my reading, does not help us understand how these two things are going to be meshed together. Of course, many noble Lords tabled their amendments in this group before the technical consultation was published. It answers some of the questions, but not all of them, and I think this is one question that it does not quite answer.

Another question occurred to me while reading the technical consultation in relation to affordable housing. It does not yet provide certainty about whether contributions under the infrastructure levy may be regarded as an improvement on the situation where developers are able to negotiate or renegotiate their liabilities under Section 106. Developers are not engaging in negotiations simply because they can and therefore they do and local authorities do not give way simply because they ask for it. Circumstances change.

I am always burned by the fact of the October 2008 crash. In the space, literally, of weeks, the economic viability of many large-scale development projects changed dramatically. If you look at any system, including this system, and it cannot meet the test of what you would do under those circumstances, I am afraid it does not help. Renegotiation of the contributions is one solution. It might be said that if the market price and the gross development value of a large site crash in the way they did in October 2008, the infrastructure levy crashes as well. The problem then is: how is the affordable housing going to be funded? How is the other infrastructure to be funded?

I do not have answers to all these things, but my noble friend and I will perhaps have an opportunity in the next group to talk a bit more substantively about the infrastructure levy and what we might do about it, but that does not answer the question. If affordable housing presently often suffers by being a residual after other Section 106 obligations have been met, and if under the infrastructure levy it becomes, in effect, a right to require and it is elevated above other requirements, there will be a great deal of difficulty in local communities about the fact that there are many other obligations that the infrastructure levy has to meet that may not be able to be met if the gross development value comes down or if, for example, the affordable housing right to require and the tenures that have to be provided lead to a much higher cumulative discount needing to be paid. We have to have some flexibility built into the system, and the risk at the moment is that that is not presently available in the way that we have understood it in the past. We can strengthen local authorities, and in the next group I hope we can talk about how that might be possible.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Carrington]

292: After Clause 123 insert the following new Clause—
“Duty of care(1) It is the duty of any body using compulsory purchase to act fairly towards the owner of any property being acquired and any claimant of compensation.(2) The Secretary of State must issue a code of practice specifying how the duty in subsection (1) is to be discharged.”Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment will ensure that legislative provision for compulsory purchase, and the actions of the acquirer, always achieve a correct balance between the interest of the state and that of the property-owning individual.

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my rural interests as set out in the register. My Amendment 292 would establish a statutory duty of care that makes the acquirer consider and possibly reduce the impact of a compulsory purchase proposal on the claimant, their property and their business. The intention is to safeguard property owners against the excesses of acquiring authorities, many of which are large, commercial and profitable companies or government bodies. HS2 comes to mind in this respect: stories of its excessive use of compulsory purchase powers are numerous in the part of Buckinghamshire in which I live.

Property owners are affected by compulsory purchase in many ways. Some lose their whole property. Many lose only a proportion of their property but have to suffer the impacts of construction for many years or decades, having to maintain a viable business throughout that time.

The acquirer’s responsibility is to compensate the landowner or business owner for their loss. This is nearly always paid after the land has been taken, and in some cases many years after. This delay only adds to the loss. Many property owners affected by compulsory purchase feel that their interests are ignored by acquirers keen to deliver the scheme, together with any environmental mitigation, but with little consideration for the person or business that may have occupied that area for generations. For an individual, this really is David and Goliath.

A statutory duty of care to consider and mitigate the impact on landowners and businesses affected by the scheme would rebalance the interests of delivering the scheme and reduce the impact. A duty of care would not delay or prevent schemes but it would ensure that the impacts on property owners and businesses are considered as a key part of the scheme, rather than being an afterthought considered only when compensation is due some time later.

The Secretary of State will have to justify how this duty of care is delivered, but an appeal to an independent person or ombudsman would give the proposal legal force. I look forward to the Minister’s response on this constructive amendment designed to take much of the aggravation out of compulsory purchase while enabling sensible schemes to progress with considerations of the interests and livelihoods of the owner.

Moving on in this group, I now call for the deletion, or at least complete redrafting, of Clauses 174 and 175, as well as government Amendment 412D, which proposes a new clause after Clause 175. The compulsory purchase provisions contained in these three clauses are immensely complicated to the layman, including myself, so I will contain my remarks to an overview and the principles at stake. In opening this debate, I would be interested to hear from the noble Baroness how these clauses relate to the Law Commission’s review into compulsory purchase reform, as it seems odd to be legislating before receiving the outcome.

By way of background to these clauses, the Government in June 2022 initiated a consultation process largely covering the contents of the clauses. We finally received the Government’s response to those consultations last week, some nine months after the close of the consultation. Under consultation principles the response should be within four months. Please also consider the fact that this Bill was introduced to the other place in May last year. What was the point of the consultation if the Government had already decided what to do?

Broadly speaking, the comments are highly diverse and no consensus was reached on any of the questions, and the negative and “not sure” views were the majority in most cases. The main comments highlight issues such as unfairness created by a two-tier property market, the vague definition of public interest, absence of clarity leading to additional costs and delays, human rights, mental health and stress, the European Convention, and potential wider effects on housing developments.

The clauses bring into question the long-held principle that anyone forced to sell land should expect to be put in the same position as would be the case if the land had not been taken from him. In other words, he should be paid market value. The purpose of Clause 174 is to cap the cost of acquiring land for affordable housing in a compulsory purchase situation by eliminating “hope value” in certain defined circumstances through the use of directions by the Secretary of State. I quote:

“In assessing the value of land … it is to be assumed that no planning permission would be granted for development on the relevant land”.


In other words, the value would be existing use rather than market value, which might incorporate hope value, which is the value attributed to the expectation of development in the future. This market value currently applies to any purchaser, whether compulsory purchase or a commercial sale. In the case of compulsory purchase, any hope value included in the purchase price paid would have to be justified and have sound basis, as it can be challenged at a tribunal.