Teather on the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants Etc.) Bill

12.15.57pm GMT Sat 6th Feb 2010

• [Jan 29] Sarah Teather (Brent East, Liberal Democrat): MAY I begin, as everyone else has done, by congratulating Dr. Iddon on coming first in the ballot, which is an extraordinary achievement that everybody else envies, and on using that privileged position to introduce a Bill that is supported by the whole House?

The impression that I have from today's debate is that any difficulties that people might have with it will be on technical issues that ought to be dealt with in Committee.

The Bill is long overdue, and the Minister said that it was a "no-brainer" that we needed this legislation. I agree with him, but I wish the Government had come to that view and put this legislation into effect themselves some time ago. He referred to the many previous Housing Ministers who had promised, at different stages, to legislate at the earliest available opportunity. Mr. Jackson, who spoke from the Conservative Front Bench, discussed the construction Bill, but I was hoping that at least we would see this legislation as an amendment to the Financial Services Bill. The Government seemed to be indicating to housing charities that that was what was going to happen, but at the last minute these provisions disappeared from that Bill and no such provisions were introduced. Thank goodness, therefore, that the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East stepped into the breach. However, grateful I am, as indeed the whole House is, that he did so, I am not sure that it is appropriate to use a private Member's Bill to get through legislation to which the Government say they are committed. Unfortunately, it was remiss of the Government that they did not legislate earlier.

I was pleased to hear the Minister say throughout his contribution that he is very supportive of the Bill, and the Department has supported the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East in drafting it. What I want to hear from the Government is not only that they are supportive, but that they will guarantee that parliamentary time is made available to ensure that the Bill gets on to the statute book, because it is long overdue and desperately needed.

As other hon. Members have said, charities such as Shelter and Crisis have been campaigning for this for a long time. Citizens advice bureaux have been warning for a number of years about the cases they have seen in which the first that tenants know about the likelihood of their losing their home is when they find that the locks have been changed. I do not wish to cover everything that other hon. Members have said, given that we are all broadly supportive of the Bill. However, it is worth picking up on a couple of the points with which I particularly agreed.

The hon. Member for Bolton, South-East explained the difficulties for landlords and why they may sometimes not tell their mortgage provider things. It is worth our understanding why that might happen in order to understand how as many as 300,000 tenants may be in unauthorised tenancy agreements.

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Bob Russell (Colchester, Liberal Democrat): Does my hon. Friend think we could examine that particular point in Committee, because when a local authority provides housing benefit to somebody in a private tenanted property it needs to be assured that the tenancy is legitimate under the laws of the land?

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Sarah Teather (Brent East, Liberal Democrat): My hon. Friend talked earlier about seeking such money back from the landlord. Unfortunately, if we were to take that approach all that would happen is that we would speed up the process of repossession. If a landlord is already having his house or flat repossessed because he is unable to pay the rent, attempting to claw back the money that has been paid in housing benefit would not really work. I understand the point that my hon. Friend is making about ensuring that the tenancy is legitimate and the authorisation appropriate, but I am not sure that this Bill is the best place to do that. I hope that the Bill will go through Committee as quickly as possible and get on to the statute book.

I encourage anybody who sits on the Committee to concentrate on the Bill, because I do not want any excuses from the Government about delay, as the Bill might thus not become law. If lots of extraneous amendments are tabled to important provisions, that could be used as an excuse when the Council of Mortgage Lenders later decides that it is getting cold feet about the Bill and the Government then say that they do not have parliamentary time available. That is my greatest fear. I suspect that such a situation might be the reason why these provisions did not end up in legislation earlier this year or in the Queen's Speech; I suspect that the Council of Mortgage Lenders decided to throw its weight around and the Government said, "Do you know what, we will hold off doing this." Let us not provide the Government with any excuse for not supporting the Bill.

It is iniquitous that a tenant who has fulfilled all their obligations should find themselves in a position where they may lose their home. It is difficult for someone who is renting to ask to see details of their landlord's arrangements with their mortgage provider; that is not something one would ever expect a tenant to do, so such tenants take their tenancy in good faith. Philip Davies, who is no longer in his place, talked about tenancies that are not given in good faith. I have to say to him that a two-month delay is not significant in the grand scheme of a process of repossession, and I am not sure that it is a reason for not supporting the Bill's progress.

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James Duddridge (Whip, Whips; Rochford & Southend East,Conservative): I hate to correct the hon. Lady, but I was the one who made that point and, before doing so, I made it very clear that I fully support the Bill.

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Sarah Teather (Brent East, Liberal Democrat): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his clarification and I am sorry for not recognising that it was he who made that point. It has been a long morning and we are only on the first Bill.

The other point that was made well by a number of hon. Members was that the "notice to occupier" is extremely unlikely ever to get read. Anyone who has lived in an area of high mobility, even if they are an owner-occupier, will be aware of the sheer weight and volume of paper that falls through the letterbox-that applies not only to Liberal Democrat target areas. Plenty of leaflets and notices to occupier that come through letterboxes simply get ignored or, at best, go into the recycling bin. What the Bill does well is to find a practical and simple solution to ensure that tenants should just get the appropriate notice period set out in their tenancy agreement.

In his interventions on the Minister, my hon. Friend Bob Russell asked whether the reason why we found ourselves in this position was the lack of affordable housing. I think I agree with him, up to a point. Many people live in poor quality, private rented sector accommodation because of a lack of affordable housing. However, part of the reason we find ourselves in this position is that the private rented sector has not been put on an equal footing with other forms of housing. It would be a better and healthier thing for the market if the private rented sector was treated not as a stop-gap between affordable housing for rent and home ownership, but as an option that should be supported to ensure that we have the highest quality and choice available for all.

One point that the Residential Landlords Association made well in its briefing on the Bill is that if tenants find themselves in a position where they might lose their home without being given any kind of notice period, it undermines both the landlords' ability to provide housing and the reputation of the private rented sector. I meet people in my constituency who are on the housing waiting list and could afford to rent privately, but they are afraid of the private rented sector because of the lack of stability. There are also other issues about quality, but this is not the place to deal with them.

Stability is a particular issue for people who have families and those who do not think that their income will go up significantly over the next five years. Those who are in a job in which they have already reached the ceiling on their income want to know that they can keep their home. If the Government's strategy is to support the private rented sector, it is essential that we deal with the issues that arise if tenants find themselves without a home with no notice period whatsoever.

In conclusion, I am extremely supportive of this Bill. I have campaigned on this issue for some time and have questioned most of the previous Housing Ministers on it, urging them to bring forward this legislation. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East on promoting this Bill. It is a fitting tribute to all his work and commitment. What an amazing achievement it is to have two Bills on the statute book from one's time in Parliament. I hope that the Minister will grant the hon. Gentleman's wish and that of the whole House and ensure that parliamentary time is made available for this Bill. We do not want any excuses from this Government that will allow the Bill to fold. The House is very supportive of it and it must go through.

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