Mike Thornton
Main Page: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Sarah Teather
The problem for environmental health officers—I was going to make this point later—is that, as many of them told Citizens Advice for a report in 2007, they know that the consequence of intervening is often that the tenant is evicted. That prevents councils from making full use of the powers available to them. There really is no point having legislation that gives councils powers to intervene if they are too afraid to use them to drive up standards for fear of ending up with tenants being evicted. Again, this is about trying to ensure, through a small tweak, that the existing law works better.
Mike Thornton (Eastleigh) (LD)
Does my hon. Friend agree that that will level the playing field for good landlords who are really interested in helping their tenants, because they will be able to provide decent accommodation that is well looked after without being undercut by rogue landlords who are not interested in their tenants at all?
Mike Thornton (Eastleigh) (LD)
As many hon. Members will be aware, I secured a Westminster Hall debate on electrical safety in private rented properties about a year ago, It was only at that point that I discovered, to my shock and horror, not only that was there no protection for people, as there were no proper certificates for electrical safety, but that if anyone complained, for instance to the council, as was their right, there was, as the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) said, a very good chance that a revenge eviction notice—a section 21—would come in the post the next day to evict a tenant who was just doing what was legally and properly their duty: protecting their family from danger in their own house.
One of my constituents, Mr Malcolm Parker, came to me with serious concerns about the electrics in his rented house in Eastleigh. He showed me pictures of what looked like a death trap. There was loose and exposed wiring, all in close proximity to water. The problem was evidently not new. If it had been, and if his landlord had immediately taken action to repair it, as a responsible landlord would do—and, I hope, as most landlords regularly do—the situation would not have come to my attention. However, unbelievably, my constituent’s landlord would rather take the risk of his tenants suffering real injury or death and of damage to his property than repair the defects.
My constituent finally complained to the council. The BBC was also involved, and the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol West (Stephen Williams), listened very carefully to my arguments in Westminster Hall about this case. My tenant was then threatened with eviction by his landlord, which is the very practice that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather) is trying to prevent. I appreciate the support that the Bill is getting from Members on both sides of the House, and I hope that many others will come to support it.
One of my close friends is a landlord. Before he rented his property out—to a very charming Polish couple, by the way, who work extremely hard, do not claim benefits and contribute to the economy—he spent a lot of time ensuring that it was in perfect condition. In fact, I am very jealous of that couple for living in such a wonderful property. If all landlords were like that, we would not be discussing these awful cases of people being evicted just for exercising their legal right to live in a safe, decent and warm property. I am shocked that, until a year ago, I did not know that such a thing was happening. That shows how ignorant I was. I apologise for arriving in this House in such a state of ignorance, but I suppose that we all have to learn sometimes.
I do have sympathy for landlords as things are not always easy for them. It is sometimes hard to deal with difficult tenants. I worked in the sector for quite a while, so I know that there were tenants who took advantage by not paying or leaving their properties in a terrible state. However, the Bill will not change landlords’ ability to deal with that. It will still allow them to take decent action against tenants who abuse their tenancies, who do not behave properly, or who refuse to pay their rent. If rent is not paid, the landlord’s house could be repossessed by the mortgage company through which the property could be bought in the first place, thus resulting in less accommodation for tenants who need it. Of course, one solution that would help to keep rents down, as the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Teresa Pearce) mentioned, would be more social housing and more help for housing associations, but that is an argument for another day.
Rogue landlords are as much a danger to good, decent, competent landlords as they are to their tenants, because if the problem keeps happening and some landlords do not behave responsibly, the House will be forced to introduce even more legislation to provide protection for tenants, which would make things even more difficult for decent landlords. I suggest that the House needs to send a message today by voting for the Bill.
Jeremy Corbyn
I compliment the hon. Gentleman on what he is saying. Does he agree not only that there is a big increase in the number of private sector tenants across the whole country, and with that an increase in concerns, but that important groups such as Generation Rent are helping to put forward a good, sensible case for giving real security and protection, especially as it is likely that, in the very near future, almost a quarter of the UK population will be living in the private rented sector?
Mike Thornton
That should be examined more carefully. It is vital that we continue to consider the private rented sector because otherwise we may have to look seriously in a few years at not having one at all. It is vital that we make things viable and fair, and make living in a private rented property a decent proposition.
Sarah Teather
What is the situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency? I was struck by the words of the environmental health officers quoted in the 2007 Citizens Advice report and by how aware they were that almost every case in which they intervened resulted in the tenant being evicted. That makes my council quite nervous about using the full force of its powers.
Mike Thornton
When I brought up the case to which I referred, Eastleigh borough council’s housing department explained to me that the situation was difficult. As its main aim is to keep people in accommodation, it was very worried, and it said that it did not want to intervene too often. When I have been asked to get involved in cases, tenants sometimes do not want me to report anything because they are worried about eviction, and I think that that is probably true across the whole country. My hon. Friend makes a good point.
As a Government and as ordinary decent people, we have a duty to tenants. This is about common decency. We should be able to listen to tenants. If, as MPs, we are unable to listen to tenants and act on their behalf because we are worried that we will make their situation even worse, we are put in an incredibly difficult position. I think that most MPs are determined to help their tenants, and that is what they want to do—
Proceedings interrupted (Standing Order No. 11(4)).