Private Rented Sector

Debate between Mark Prisk and Peter Bottomley

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Prisk]

I suspect that the hon. Gentleman wishes that he had been on “The One Show” as well. However, I am always happy to encourage and applaud innovation when we see it.

[Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Prisk]

I will give way briefly, but then I will continue my speech, if I may.

[Sir Peter Bottomley]

My hon. Friend rightly mentioned longer time scales. Will he inquire whether it would be possible—not today, but in future—for the Ministry of Justice and his Department to examine cases dealt with by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal involving Mr Joseph Gurvitz, the Peverel company and the Tchenguiz family businesses, and to establish what lessons can be learned from them?

[Mr Prisk]

I will look into those cases very carefully—I am aware of them—but I think that it would be wiser for me to take no further steps. My hon. Friend has made his point, however, and it is a good one.

We recognise that competitive pressures alone will not eradicate bad practice among landlords or, indeed, among letting and management agents. Private tenants include many of society’s most vulnerable groups, people who may not be able to negotiate and who may not even be aware of their rights. There will always be an important role for regulation in the protection of tenants: sensible, well-balanced regulation to ensure that homes are safe to live in, tenants’ deposits are protected, and tenants are not misled when signing a lease. For that matter—to be fair, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington made this point himself—regulation is also needed to protect landlords from rogue agents, or from tenants who routinely do not pay their rent.