The House of Lords' passing of amendments combatting so-called retaliatory evictions - reported yesterday on Letting Agent Today - has been received with resigned consternation by the National Landlords Association.
The measure, which now goes for a third reading in the Lords on March 4, is almost certain to become law in the spring.
The NLA accuses the government of using the Deregulation Bill (a wide-ranging bill currently being debated in parliament) as a way of resurrecting the Tenancies (Reform) Bill which had previously failed to progress to a second reading in the House of Commons due to lack of support.
This was the bill introduced by Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather which advocated theintroduction of a defence against Section 21 possession claims, on the basis of a failure to maintain or repair a property - the so-called revenge or retaliatory eviction.
We have yet to see any credible evidence of a problem significant to justify the need for additional legislation and we strongly believe that the changes .... represent a politically timed reaction to fear and anecdote, rather than a confirmation of commonplace poor practice within private housing says Chris Norris, NLA head of policy.
At best this is will be a burdensome nuisance for the majority of good landlords. At worst it will further mask the actions of criminals who abuse their tenants, while regulators struggle to differentiate between those in genuine need and vexatious troublemakers.
The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and other rural businesses, has expressed dismay at the result, saying it will not target bad landlords and instead impose burdens on thousands of responsible rural landlords.
"This is the definition of bad policy making. It imposes a poorly designed, burdensome new regulation as part of a law that is supposed to be about 'deregulation'. By forcing through this law, ministers risk setting back significantly the opportunity for putting in place measures that will tackle the minority of bad landlords that we agree should be targeted with regulation says CLA president Henry Robinson.
Shelter is welcoming the vote, with Campbell Robb, chief executive, saying that the government has taken a stand for England's nine million renters by proposing a change in the law to end revenge evictionsIf this becomes law, hundreds of thousands of people will no longer face the appalling choice between living in a home that puts them or their children in danger, or risking eviction if they complain.
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Comments
Last paragraph "Shelter is welcoming the vote". No surprise there. That meddlesome organisation are part of the reason politicians have jumped on the PRS over the last year - the other reason is the forthcoming election.
Well look on the bright side, if this lot goes through along with some other ill-thought out proposals then the PRS will shrink dramatically as Landlords will find other things to invest in. This will shrink the number of Tenants in the PRS - therefore potential voters and hopefully politicians will then leave the industry alone !
This amendment and the possibility of rent caps not to mention the minefield of existing legislation iis one sledge hammer too far and can only result in a much smaller private rented sector especially in London where some Landlords will have large mortgages and bigger overheads and some Boroughs have brought in mandatory licencing.
The saddest thing about this amendment when it goes through is that fact that it indicates the power of the sound bite over the evidence. As mentioned above it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut with regards to retaliatory evictions but indicative that if you keep shouting loudly enough about an issue, whether it is based in fact or not, the politicians will be swayed.
Agreed, and if rent controls come in expect to see the PRS back down to under 10% of housing stock by end of next Parliament.
On Dereg Bill don't just look at the headline retaliatory stuff, which only really bites if an enforcement order is issued. Though Judges may need a bit of educating as to whether a tenant has a defence just because they have rung the EHO.
There is a lot of other imortant PRS related stuff in there
A huge step towards the death of the private rented sector.