Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Bishop of Lincoln Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Lincoln]

My Lords, I welcome this Bill and the commitment that the Government have made to tackling the pervasive insecurity and unaffordability of the private rented sector. I will be delighted to listen to the maiden speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Brown.

Last week, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Chelmsford, the lead Bishop on housing, chaired a round table with a number of noble Lords and members of the Renters’ Reform Coalition. Although she is unable to be here today, I know that she is looking forward to contributing to the Bill as it progresses.

The Bill is an opportunity to strike a fairer, long-term deal that will benefit both landlords and tenants. We must heed the voices not only of tenants themselves but of landlords’ groups, which have expressed legitimate concerns about any potential negative consequences, however unintended, of the changes introduced by the Bill.

There are many things that the Bill gets right, including, to name just a few: the introduction of a private rented sector landlord ombudsman service; the expansion of provisions supporting tenants with pets—my cats and I are grateful; and the extension of Awaab’s law to the private rented sector. These are in line with the vision of the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community, which argued that good housing should meet the following standard and be

“sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying”.

However, I have some concerns about the Bill as it stands. First, it ought to extend the decent homes standard to all temporary and asylum accommodation. While I celebrate the Government’s decision to introduce a clause extending its scope to temporary accommodation following a consultation, I note that this change will be at the discretion of the courts on a case-by-case basis. This extension should apply to dispersed accommodation for asylum seekers, which is currently managed by accommodation providers on behalf of the Home Office. In a debate last week, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Sheffield correctly identified the need to move from the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers to dispersed accommodation sites in communities. This will require local government to be properly funded to provide support services for asylum seekers, especially children, to enable integration into local schools and communities.

I am also concerned about discretionary grounds for eviction, which could affect, for instance, tenants who are terminally ill. I welcome the opportunity the Bill provides to explore what are the remaining grounds for possession, where they need not be mandatory.

Finally, I turn to the topic of tied accommodation. I thank the Minister for her engagement with these Benches regarding the Bill’s implications for those in occupational tied accommodation, a concept which is well-defined in law. As the Bill progresses, I anticipate that there will be need for further conversations to ensure that charitable retirement housing schemes for those who spend their working life in tied accommodation are not inadvertently prejudiced.