Private Rented Sector

Luke Hall Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Luke Hall)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Sir Gary. I thank the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) for bringing the debate to the House and for the way she did so. She brought a constructive tone to the issues that she raised, and is clearly passionate on behalf of her constituents. She made clear points about the number of people living in the private rented sector whom she represents, and the clear, positive level of engagement that she has with her constituents about those matters. I commend her for that, and I understand about her daughter’s nursery provision being cancelled. My two boys are under two and theirs has been cancelled this week. She made a number of points about the seriousness of the situation we face with covid-19 and I shall come on to that. I will touch on as many of the points she raised as possible.

The hon. Lady is clearly right that not only is the private rented sector the second largest tenure in England, housing more than 11 million people and representing about 19% of all housing in England; it is also housing an increasingly diverse range of tenants. The sector plays a hugely important role in providing homes across the country and is an integral element of our approach to making sure that the housing market works for people across the country. Yet the housing market has undoubtedly left many tenants feeling insecure. She highlighted that articulately in her speech. We are clear that we will introduce a better deal for renters and deliver a package of reforms aimed at creating a fairer, more effective rental market. We know that there is a lot more to do. We are committed to taking action and we know that that action must improve people’s lives across the country and deliver a sector that works for everyone living in it. Everyone renting in the private sector has the right to feel secure in their home and settled in their community, and to plan for the future with confidence. Millions of responsible tenants could be uprooted by their landlords with little notice and often, as I am sure we all agree, with little justification. That is wrong, and we plan to put an end to it.

We are therefore making the biggest change to the private rented sector in a generation: our rental reform Bill will introduce a better deal for tenants. It will contain a package of reforms to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market, improving the lives of many renters across our country. We will set out our plans for the Bill in the coming months. We are now working intensively with stakeholder organisations across the private rented sector to ensure we get that right. That is informing the development of the legislation, so that we create a system that really works.

The hon. Lady touched on older renters in her speech. She is absolutely right that the private rented sector is home to an increasing number of older people. Poor standards are a real risk for that group. We are working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that older people can keep their homes warm. That is why we are embarking on a major drive to improve standards in the private rented sector. The vast majority of landlords, I am sure we agree, are responsible and law-abiding people who care passionately and deeply about providing good-quality accommodation for the people who live in their homes.

Standards in the private rented sector, however, are lower than those in other tenures. That is not acceptable, and we have given local authorities strong enforcement powers, including banning orders, to address that by law. Private rented homes must be free from the most serious health and safety hazards. They must have smoke detectors on every floor and have gas boilers and installations checked every year. Just this morning, we debated our regulations requiring landlords to carry out electrical safety inspections at least every five years. I am grateful that support for that measure came from across the House. Landlords must also prove that the electrics in their property meet the legal standards, or get the work done to make them safe.

The hon. Lady and other Members raised the important issue of the mental health of tenants in the PRS. She is absolutely right: poor standards can affect mental health negatively. That is why they will form an important part of our reforms of the housing health-and-safety rating system. She also asked about the national register to protect tenants. We absolutely want to get the balance right between supporting good landlords and tackling criminals. We have already introduced a database of rogue landlords and property agents so that local authorities can tackle the worst offenders and prevent them from operating in order better to protect tenants. The consultation on extending information on the database to tenants closed on 12 October. We are reviewing the responses. When we publish any follow-up, I am happy to ensure that the hon. Lady is sighted of that information.

I highlight the fact that the vast majority of landlords play an important role in providing decent quality housing, but we are determined to crack down on the small number of unscrupulous landlords who neglect their property and exploit their tenants. We want such landlords to comply or to leave the sector altogether. The cost of enforcement should be placed on the few landlords who deliberately rent out substandard and unsafe accommodation, not on the taxpayer. We are also looking at ways to improve access to, and to expand the scope of, the database.

Given the time, I will turn to covid-19. Hon. Members in all parts of the House have taken a hugely constructive view of how to support people through this hugely difficult situation faced by our country. The hon. Lady is right that no one should feel that they cannot afford to self-isolate in the current climate. To preface some of the remarks that I am about to make, we have already announced some measures, but I confirm that very shortly the Chancellor will outline a further package of support for people in this sector later today. I cannot, unfortunately, update her on exactly what that is before it is announced; I hope she understands. However, I confirm that this is being taken very seriously, and we are working on it intensively to ensure that we can get it announced as quickly as possible.

We have already announced a range of measures, including a £500 million hardship fund. We will set out more details of that shortly. We are bringing forward measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the first day rather than the fourth. We also have a range of support in place for those who do not receive statutory sick pay, including those on universal credit and contribution-based employment support allowance. I hope that the hon. Lady will bear with us for a few more hours to hear some more detail.

We are committed to building a private sector that works for everyone across our country. We will introduce a better deal for renters that improves the lives of people across our country. I thank the hon. Lady for securing the debate.

Question put and agreed to.