Lords blast Renters’ Rights Bill enforcement penalties and lack of scrutiny time

Members of the House of Lords warn that new enforcement financial penalties in the Renters’ Rights Bill will hurt small landlords and need to be fair.

Lord peers debated until 1am in the morning in the final week of the Renters’ Rights Bill, committee stage with the final debate taking place today (Wednesday 14 May)

Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, councils could impose civil penalties of more than £7,000 on landlords who fail to comply with enforcement rules.

Small landlords won’t be able to handle the financial burden

Baroness Scott of Bybrook, from the Conservatives, pointed out that many landlords won’t be able to handle the financial burden.

She told the debate: “Many landlords are small-scale or so-called accidental landlords, who may not be in a position to absorb such fines.”

Lord Hunt of Wirral, also from the Conservatives, spoke about the amendments he and other Conservative members had tabled to improve the fairness of the Bill.

He said: “The replacement of “on the balance of probabilities” with “beyond reasonable doubt’ raises the standard of proof for these offences when the local authority is determining a case.”

Another amendment would remove “reckless,” meaning a landlord could only be found guilty if it’s proven they knowingly relied on a ground for possession with full knowledge of the offence.

Lord Hunt expressed concern about the potential opposition from the Minister.

He said: “I expect that the Minister will oppose these amendments on the grounds that they will make it less easy for a local authority to find a landlord guilty of an offence. But surely the crucial point is that they would put a proper check on the incorrect prosecution of landlords that may arise from the new system of penalties that will be imposed by local authorities.”

He also raised a concern about whether local authorities would have the necessary resources to assess cases fairly.

He adds: “There is also a legitimate question about how we can be certain that local authorities will have the resources they need fairly to assess cases in which landlords are accused of an offence.

“We need a system that ensures that landlords are held to high standards, but surely that system has to be seen to be fair. Any system that makes landlords feel that they are perennially at risk of being found guilty of an offence, even without their knowledge, will only add to the chilling effect of the bill on our rental market.”

Do not think limiting the offence is necessary or helpful

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary under-secretary for housing, told the Lords debate she disagreed with the amendments.

She said: “I do not think that limiting the offence in this way is necessary or helpful. Clearly, landlords should not be penalised for minor mistakes, but recklessness goes beyond making a mistake.

“It entails taking an unjustified risk, and landlords should not take an unjustified risk when their action may result in someone losing their home.”

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage added that the government has committed to assess the financial impact of the enforcement changes and will provide additional funding for local authorities.

Not able to scrutinise the Renters’ Rights Bill

Many members of the House of Lords argued they had not been given enough time to properly scrutinise the Renters’ Rights Bill. The penultimate committee stage debate started hours later than scheduled at 8:30pm due to other legislation taking up time.

Lord Shipley from the Liberal Democrats pointed out that the committee was promised six days of consideration. He said, “I hope the government’s intention is not simply to go through the night tonight and through the night on Wednesday. This would not mean reasonable discussion of the 132 amendments that still stand to be debated.”

Baroness Scott of Bybrook, from the Conservatives, also pointed that the later time had kept some members from attending, making it harder to properly scrutinise the Bill. She said, “Many noble Lords who have been involved in these debates over the past four days in Committee are unable to be in their seats because of the later time of day. That will not help us scrutinise this Bill as we should.”

In response, Lord Wilson of Sedgefield, Government Whip for Labour, said, “We will try to resolve this through the usual channels, but there are six days and this is the fifth day. We want to make progress today and we want to complete Committee on the sixth day, which is Wednesday this week.”

The news comes after the Conservatives accused Labour of “bully-boy tactics” over rushing Renters’ Rights Bill through the committee stage.

Watch the full clip of Lord Shipley criticising the government for the lack of time to scrutinise the Renters’ Rights Bill and Lord Wilson’s response below