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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2018/jan/17/government-support-fit-homes-habitation-wont-pass-bill
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| The habitable homes bill could transform lives. MPs must back it | The habitable homes bill could transform lives. MPs must back it |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| This Friday, parliament must not pass up the opportunity to give tenants a fighting chance against rogue landlords | This Friday, parliament must not pass up the opportunity to give tenants a fighting chance against rogue landlords |
| Dan Wilson | Dan Wilson |
| Wed 17 Jan 2018 00.00 GMT | Wed 17 Jan 2018 00.00 GMT |
| Last modified on Wed 17 Jan 2018 11.15 GMT | |
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| This coming Friday, 19 January, a bill is to be debated in parliament that could hugely improve the lives of many people in England. | This coming Friday, 19 January, a bill is to be debated in parliament that could hugely improve the lives of many people in England. |
| The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill would give private and social tenants the ability to take landlords to court if their home is unsafe. Over a million homes are thought to pose a serious threat to the health or safety of the people living there. This classification, also known as a “category 1 hazard”, covers 795,000 private tenancies – one in six of the privately rented homes in the country. | The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill would give private and social tenants the ability to take landlords to court if their home is unsafe. Over a million homes are thought to pose a serious threat to the health or safety of the people living there. This classification, also known as a “category 1 hazard”, covers 795,000 private tenancies – one in six of the privately rented homes in the country. |
| The government announced support for the bill on 14 January – a relief for those of us who have campaigned for years on this. But the battle is not over yet. Even with government support, if fewer than 100 supporters show up on the day, a single MP could “talk the bill to death” – delivering a speech so long that there would be no time to vote on it. | The government announced support for the bill on 14 January – a relief for those of us who have campaigned for years on this. But the battle is not over yet. Even with government support, if fewer than 100 supporters show up on the day, a single MP could “talk the bill to death” – delivering a speech so long that there would be no time to vote on it. |
| The bill is necessary. Currently, if a landlord doesn’t respond to a request for repairs, it is up to the council to enforce the law. That entails a visit from environmental health officers to check for hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), such as mould, excess cold and fire risks. If any are found, they can compel the landlord to address them by issuing a formal enforcement notice – if flouted, prosecution awaits. | The bill is necessary. Currently, if a landlord doesn’t respond to a request for repairs, it is up to the council to enforce the law. That entails a visit from environmental health officers to check for hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), such as mould, excess cold and fire risks. If any are found, they can compel the landlord to address them by issuing a formal enforcement notice – if flouted, prosecution awaits. |
| Yet research in 2015, commissioned by Karen Buck, the Labour MP behind the new bill, found that in 2013/14, the average council in England received 433 such complaints – but inspected only 260 privately rented homes. Indeed, only around one in every 22 renters who report disrepair can expect to see change. | Yet research in 2015, commissioned by Karen Buck, the Labour MP behind the new bill, found that in 2013/14, the average council in England received 433 such complaints – but inspected only 260 privately rented homes. Indeed, only around one in every 22 renters who report disrepair can expect to see change. |
| The averages mask a huge variation. Some councils, such as Newham in London, issue hundreds of enforcement notices, while others do nothing. It creates a postcode lottery for unsafe homes. The 2016 Housing and Planning Act gave councils greater powers and incentives to enforce the law, but many don’t have the resources to take advantage of them. | The averages mask a huge variation. Some councils, such as Newham in London, issue hundreds of enforcement notices, while others do nothing. It creates a postcode lottery for unsafe homes. The 2016 Housing and Planning Act gave councils greater powers and incentives to enforce the law, but many don’t have the resources to take advantage of them. |
| Although there are fewer of them, social tenants with an unsafe home currently have even less recourse, particularly where the landlord and the council are one and the same, as became tragically apparent following the Grenfell Tower fire last June. | Although there are fewer of them, social tenants with an unsafe home currently have even less recourse, particularly where the landlord and the council are one and the same, as became tragically apparent following the Grenfell Tower fire last June. |
| That’s why giving tenants an additional route to justice through the courts is so important. | That’s why giving tenants an additional route to justice through the courts is so important. |
| Incredibly, Friday’s bill proposes changes to a law that has existed since 1885. But there is one huge drawback: it is based on rent levels that haven’t been raised since 1957. So you have an option to take action only if you pay annual rent of less than £80 in London or £52 elsewhere. Average weekly rents in London are now £362 a week. | Incredibly, Friday’s bill proposes changes to a law that has existed since 1885. But there is one huge drawback: it is based on rent levels that haven’t been raised since 1957. So you have an option to take action only if you pay annual rent of less than £80 in London or £52 elsewhere. Average weekly rents in London are now £362 a week. |
| Buck’s bill would abolish the rent cap, enabling tenants to bring civil proceedings in the county court when a property is unfit for habitation under the Housing Act 2004. The landlord may even be made to pay compensation for the period for which the property was unfit. | Buck’s bill would abolish the rent cap, enabling tenants to bring civil proceedings in the county court when a property is unfit for habitation under the Housing Act 2004. The landlord may even be made to pay compensation for the period for which the property was unfit. |
| The changes would make no difference to their existing legal obligations, so all law-abiding landlords, including the 123 MPs who let out property, ought to support the bill – landlord associations already do. Scuppering the legislation would only protect criminals, and perpetuate the industry’s squalid image. Still, it only takes one saboteur. | The changes would make no difference to their existing legal obligations, so all law-abiding landlords, including the 123 MPs who let out property, ought to support the bill – landlord associations already do. Scuppering the legislation would only protect criminals, and perpetuate the industry’s squalid image. Still, it only takes one saboteur. |
| Dan Wilson Craw is the director of Generation Rent | |
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