Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Labour at odds over housing policy
Ed Miliband's launch of his party's housing policy got a lot of publicity and not a little scepticism from those who thought that it might impact on the availability of homes in the private sector. The most controversial was this:
“And we need to deal with the terrible insecurity of Britain’s private rental market as well. Many tenancies last just six months with families at risk of being thrown out after that with just two months’ notice with no reason. Some are told to accept huge rent rises or face eviction. It breeds instability and that is bad for tenants, bad for families, bad for landlords, and bad for our society.
"So today I can announce, the next Labour government will legislate to make three year tenancies the standard in the British private rented sector to giving people who rent the certainty they need. These new longer-term tenancies will limit the amount that rents can rise by each year too - so landlords know what they can expect each year and tenants can’t be surprised by rents that go through the roof.
In that spirit I tabled an amendment to the Welsh Housing Bill suggesting that we have 12 month tenancies as a minimum here. The Labour Minister rejected my amendment on the basis that it would impact upon supply.
I wonder if he has told Ed Miliband?
“And we need to deal with the terrible insecurity of Britain’s private rental market as well. Many tenancies last just six months with families at risk of being thrown out after that with just two months’ notice with no reason. Some are told to accept huge rent rises or face eviction. It breeds instability and that is bad for tenants, bad for families, bad for landlords, and bad for our society.
"So today I can announce, the next Labour government will legislate to make three year tenancies the standard in the British private rented sector to giving people who rent the certainty they need. These new longer-term tenancies will limit the amount that rents can rise by each year too - so landlords know what they can expect each year and tenants can’t be surprised by rents that go through the roof.
In that spirit I tabled an amendment to the Welsh Housing Bill suggesting that we have 12 month tenancies as a minimum here. The Labour Minister rejected my amendment on the basis that it would impact upon supply.
I wonder if he has told Ed Miliband?
