15th
Jan 2016
Labour’s amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill that landlords’ properties ““are fit for human habitation”, has been defeated by Tory MPs.
Teresa Pearce, the shadow housing minister, had originally proposed the amendment last year. Pearce said: “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 further went to state that within other sectors, conditions such as damp and or mouldy walls would be unacceptable.
She said: “Where else in modern day life could someone get away with this? It’s a consumer issue. If I purchased a mobile phone or a computer that didn’t work, didn’t do what it said it would or was unsafe I would take it back and get a refund.”
Pearce also claims that the PRS supply and demand means that people who rented their homes had little power in negotiating better living conditions.
Many tenant’s campaign groups took to social media to vent their anger.
One such group tweeted (@hackney_renters): “Jaw dropping: Even though 16% of rented homes unsafe Tories believe landlord propaganda about basic standards 'pushing up rent'”. The tweet ended with: “Further evidence for just how much the current government is in cahoots with the private landlords”.
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