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Stephen Williams
vows to outlaw revenge evictions
THE Government vowed to
work to outlaw so called:- 'revenge evictions' that
destroy a tenant's right to expect to rent a safe and secure home. Ministers gave their backing in principle to a Private Member's Bill
to stop the small minority of rogue landlords who, rather than meet
their legal duty to keep their properties at a reasonable standard
and remove health and safety hazards, instead evict tenants simply
for asking for essential repairs to be made; on the condition that
the Bill only targets bad landlords and cannot be used by tenants to
frustrate legitimate evictions.
Communities Minister Stephen Williams said Sarah Teather's Bill
would help root out a minority of spiteful landlords and ensure that
hardworking tenants are not afraid to ask for better standards in
their homes.
The Bill will extend the existing restrictions on a
landlord's power to evict, where they don't protect a deposit or
have a licence they are required to hold, to situations where a
health and safety hazard has been identified by environmental health
Officers.
Whilst the vast majority of landlords offer a good quality
professional service a few rogues shirk their legal responsibilities
and use the threat of eviction to silence tenants from rightly
speaking out against sub standard and dangerous accommodation.
Accepting a petition from Shelter on revenge evictions, Minister for
Communities Stephen Williams said:- "Our private rental sector
is a vital asset, providing a home to 9 million people across the
country. So I'm determined to root out the minority of rogue
landlords that give it a bad name.
That's why we're backing Sarah Teather's Bill to outlaw revenge
evictions once and for all; ensuring tenants do not face the
prospect of losing their home simply because they've asked for
essential repairs to be made."
The Government is determined to root out the small minority of rogue
landlords; and has given Councils £6.7million to tackle those in
their area. Over the last 7 months 23 Councils have used their
share of government funding to inspect more than 6,500 properties,
with more than 1,700 landlords now facing further action and
prosecution.
This Bill is one of a range of measures that will empower tenants
and ensure they get a fair deal without introducing excessive
regulation which would punish the majority of good landlords, force
up rents and reduce choice.
Earlier in the day Housing Minister Brandon Lewis announced a new
Model Tenancy Agreement that will help tenants to agree longer
tenancies with their landlords to give them more stability.
A new Industry Code of Practice was also introduced making clear the
legal requirements and best practice, leaving landlords in no doubt
about their responsibilities to their tenants.
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Brandon Lewis - A
better deal for hardworking tenants
TENANTS renting privately
will get a better, fairer deal under measures announced by Housing
Minister Brandon Lewis, with Liverpool being one of three areas to
benefit from the Government's Build to Rent scheme in new deals
announced recently.
Thanks to a range of ambitious initiatives, people looking to rent a
home will be better informed, have greater choice and more
confidence they will be treated fairly. But Mr Lewis said this will
not strangle the industry in red tape and regulation, which would
destroy investment in new housing, push up prices, and make it far
harder for people to find a flat or house to rent. Instead, today's
measures will both provide the help tenants need, without
jeopardising the millions of pounds in investment already lined up
to build new homes specifically for private rent.
The Minister has announced that the key to creating a bigger, better
private rented sector is to secure more investment and encourage
more professional landlords to enter the market and offer their
homes to tenants. He announced 3 new deals to deliver homes
specifically for private rent under the Build to Rent scheme.
Carpenter Investments has been awarded £4.8million to build 101
homes specifically for private rent in Liverpool. As well as Liverpool, the other contracts
are:- ► £17.7million to Notting Hill Housing Trust to build 151 homes in
Newham and Southwark;
► £4.8million to Derwentside Homes to build 114 homes for private
rent in Durham
In total the Build to Rent scheme is well on track to deliver up to
10,000 new homes for private rent by 2015.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:- "The private rented
sector plays a vital role in our housing market, providing a
flexible option for millions of people across the country. The last
thing we want to do is strangle it in red tape; but tenants and
landlords should have confidence that they will be treated fairly.
Today's package of measures is designed to do just that, putting
power in the hands of people to get the deal they deserve, without
punishing the vast majority of good landlords while still
encouraging more investment in the sector.
I would urge all landlords to take account of the new Code of
Practice and look to offer our Model Tenancy Agreement; while
today's Build to Rent deals demonstrate how committed we are to
getting homes built specifically for this market."
The Minister has now published a new Model Tenancy Agreement, which
will empower tenants to agree longer deals with their landlord;
offering the security and stability that families deserve.
It also has the added benefit of avoiding the need for landlords to
leave properties empty and pay fees to letting agents for finding
new tenants. Also published, a new Code of Practice makes clear the
legal requirements of landlords and letting agents alike, leaving
both in no doubt about their responsibilities to their tenants. This
code has industry-wide support, and has been produced by the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
This is on top of a new requirement for letting agents to belong to
one of three approved redress schemes, to ensure that any landlord
or tenant who gets a raw deal has somewhere to go with their
complaint; and could even claim compensation.
Mr Lewis urged letting agents not yet signed up to one of these
schemes to do so before the 1 October 2014 deadline. |
