Profile incomplete
11:03 AM, 17th January 2018, About 6 years ago 6
Text Size
Labour MP, Karen Buck, who brought the Private Members Bill ‘Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill 2017-19’ to Parliament is requesting feedback from tenants on Facebook.
However, there is no request to include feedback from Landlords!
The Facebook page, Click Here to view, asks:
Share your thoughts with Karen Buck MP Thursday 18th Jan 1 – 2 pm
Public
Have you had experience of living in a rented property with damp & mould, excessive cold, fire risks or overcrowding? Do you want to see the quality of all rented accommodation in the UK improved and standardised?
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitations and Liability for Housind Standards) Bill will be debated in the House of Commons on Friday 19 January and Karen Buck MP would like to hear about your experiences.
Comment with your views and stories and Karen will be joining the discussion live on Thursday 18 January, 1 – 2pm.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Your name, and any information or opinions you provide, may be used in a Parliamentary debate which will be on the record and available on Parliament TV and Hansard. Please ensure that you are happy with your comment before sharing.
To see our online discussion rules, please visit http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/have-your-say/online-discussion-rules/
The Private Members’ Bill brought forward by Labour MP, Karen Buck, includes giving tenants the right to take legal action over the habitation standards of private rental property.
The Bill had previously been defeated in Parliament by conservative MPs, but was reintroduced by Karen Buck after the Grenfell Tower disaster in London.
However, in a complete turn around, The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government has decided it will help the Labour MP to draft the Bill.
Sajid Javid said: “Everyone deserves a decent and safe place to live. Councils already have wide ranging powers to crack down on the minority of landlords who rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.
“However, public safety is paramount and I am determined to do everything possible to protect tenants. That is why government will support new legislation that requires all landlords to ensure properties are safe and give tenants the right to take legal action if landlords fail in their duties.”
Under existing powers local authorities can already fine landlords up to £30,000 for renting unsafe or substandard accommodation and from April councils will also be able to issue banning orders for repeat offending landlords.
The Bill is looking to give more powers to tenants to force landlords to fix category one health and safety hazards or take legal action against landlords if these hazards are not fixed. Examples of the types of hazards include leaking roofs, exposed or overloaded wiring, damp, badly fitted doors etc.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill 2017-19 is expected to have its second reading debate on Friday 19 January 2018. The summary of the Bill states it is to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human habitation; to amend the Building Act 1984 to make provision about the liability for works on residential accommodation that do not comply with Building Regulations; and for connected purposes.
Please Click Here to see full details of the Bill drawn up so far.
Rod
10:10 AM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
The best thing is to write 'direct' to her at Parliament. If we all do it, she'll soon get fed up!
Dr Rosalind Beck
11:18 AM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
You would think from this that tenants have no role at all in maintaining their homes and that any and all problems are the fault of landlords. Completely ridiculous. Pretty soon my son will have the right to sue me for the awful mess he has created in his bedroom.
TheMaluka
12:46 PM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Dr Rosalind Beck at 18/01/2018 - 11:18
I can recommend a good lawyer to your son, the same one who tried to sue me for £25k for an accident that did not happen!
Luke P
13:05 PM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
Fire risks? You'd think with the very public Grenfell, that would be enough to keep their 'own house' in order than go actively seeking sob-stories that likely can't be evidenced.
Annie Landlord
19:35 PM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
The bill means private AND social landlords will be liable. That has to be at least some improvement on the current situation, which seems to target private landlords and make excuses for councils and housing associations. Had a quick look at the facebook page. A remarkable number of the posts are complaints about social housing
Tobias Nightingale
20:01 PM, 18th January 2018, About 6 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 18/01/2018 - 19:35
Thats good to know people actually have the courage to complain about social landlords. It truly is remarkable how little horror stories there are about them. Some of it may be given the stories about private ll they think they will be evicted from the 'security' that social landlords provide unlike those implied to be dreaded private landlords..