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An amendment to the Housing Bill, which was put forward by Labour MP and shadow housing minister, Teresa Pearce, has been defeated in the House of Commons.
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Her emotive argument was: “The majority of landlords let property which is and remains in a decent standard. Many landlords go out of their way to ensure that even the slightest safety hazard is sorted quickly and efficiently. So it is even more distressing when we see reports of homes which are frankly unfit for human habitation being let, often at obscene prices.”
She continued: “If I purchased food from a shop and it was unsafe to eat I would not only get a refund but there is a high possibility the shopkeeper could be prosecuted. Yet if I rent from a landlord, perhaps the only available property for me, and it was unsafe to live in then I can either put up or shut up.”
Unnecessary Landlord Regulation
On the opposite side of the table, MP Marcus Jones argued: “New clause 52 would result in unnecessary regulation and cost to landlords which would deter further investment and push up rents for tenants. Of course we believe that all homes should be of a decent standard and all tenants should have a safe place to live regardless of tenure, but local authorities already have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality and safe accommodation and we expect them to use them.”
Clearly a lot of other ministers agreed with him because the amendment was defeated by a majority 93 votes out of the 312 votes cast.
