Mike Freer
Main Page: Mike Freer (Conservative - Finchley and Golders Green)(9 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Brandon Lewis
My hon. Friend is fighting hard for his constituents and planning is an emotive issue that people care passionately about. It shapes the future of the environments in which we live. Every planning application, no matter how silly it might seem, will have unique characteristics and will therefore potentially lead to different decisions.
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)
21. What steps his Department is taking to tackle rogue landlords.
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)
We have provided £6.7 million thus far to crack down on rogue landlords and have legislated to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction. I am determined to go further. We have recently published plans to blacklist and ban rogue landlords and to enable councils to impose civil penalties and to seek rent repayment orders in more circumstances.
Mike Freer
Does my hon. Friend agree that the approach of creating a register will simply create bureaucracy and drive up rents for tenants?
Brandon Lewis
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Last time the Opposition costed their plans for a national register, it was, I think, about £40 million a year, a cost that would fall on the tenants. More regulation in that sense is simply not the answer; it drives down supply and, as a result, quality for tenants.