Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Hacking Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

My Lords, this group of amendments on the financial penalties raises the very important point of how local authorities are informed of the landlord’s breaches and hence are in a position to impose financial penalties. Without that, there can be no imposition of financial penalties. This issue was raised in our last debate by the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, and the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, relating to police failures.

A major thrust throughout this Bill is to curb—or, rather optimistically, to stop—rogue landlords acting illegally. Therefore, we need to realistically identify the rogue landlords. It may sound trite, but they are rogues who have every intention to exploit the law to their benefit or ignore it altogether. It is no good legislating for financial penalties unless the rogue landlord’s breaches are identified and brought to the notice of local authorities so that financial penalties can be applied.

Under this Bill, commendable new schemes are being set up. First, there is the private rental sector ombudsman scheme. Secondly, there is the private rental sector database scheme. Thirdly, there are the private sector rent payment orders, otherwise known as RPOs. However, each of these schemes relies on the landlord’s breaches being reported. Moreover, if these breaches are reported to the ombudsman, it is doubtful that the ombudsman, in this entirely civil procedure, has any right to report on the landlord’s breaches to the local authorities. The major potential reporter is the wronged tenant, but history shows that wronged tenants are very reluctant, for obvious reasons, to report their landlords. The answer must therefore be to legislate sensibly and to go for measures that will be most effective against rogue landlords but do not penalise ordinary, lawful and honest landlords.

I have to say, politely and respectfully, that this is where this Bill fails. Take the example of the 12-month ban on putting properties back on the market after a failed sale or failed family occupation following evictions on grounds 1 or 1A. The rogue landlord will simply exploit this procedure, fudging dates and taking other steps. This will not provide any effective deterrent to the rogue landlord. Focusing on the wrong that is to be put right—namely, landlords raising the rent after failure of sales or failure of family occupation—my noble friend will remember that I suggested that the much better, more sensible and more directed focus is to ban all rent increases across the market after abortive sales or abortive family occupation.

Since that is a simple, across-the-board provision, rogue landlords would find it much more difficult to act in breach. Noble Lords may remember my example of a landlord having sought and obtained eviction of a tenant in order to put his parents into the property and then one of his parents has a stroke and is unable to enter it. That landlord is then left with the penal result of being unable to put the property on the market for 12 months and to collect much-needed rent. Also, it would mean property unnecessarily being unavailable on the rental market, also for a period of 12 months.

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We have had no information on the timescale for the implementation of the Bill, except the text of Clause 145, which I, as a lay man, find incomprehensible. I urge the Minister to tell us the timescale for implementation or to consider and accept the amendment as a means of a smooth transition. I beg to move.

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very pleased to support the noble Lord, Lord Carrington. There is nothing political about the stand that he is, and I am now, taking; it is a purely practical amendment. Indeed, in Committee, I tabled a great number of amendments to do with the start date of the provisions in the Bill. They were also not in any way political; they were purely administrative or practical.

As your Lordships know, in the Bill there are absolutely fundamental changes to the law of landlord and tenant. The short-term tenancy has gone, and it is being replaced by a periodic tenancy. There are a number of other features which we have gone through in detail, both in Committee and on Report, which are new and represent some massive change. The consequence of that is that everybody involved in the lettings of property —estate agents and the landlords—needs time to draw up entirely new tenancy agreements.

As it happens, I personally write all my tenancy agreements with each of my tenants, and I have to get down to this task of completely rewriting these tenancy agreements. Of course, I have the advantage of having participated in the Bill at Second Reading, in Committee and now on Report. I do not need the full three months for either new or existing tenancies, but I am sympathetic to others who are going to need more time. I ask my noble friend the Minister—not for any political reasons, but for purely practical reasons—would she consider giving more time, because there is a lot of work to be done? I think I can do it within the requisite time, but others may find it very difficult.

[Baroness Thornhill (LD)]

To the noble Lords, Lord Carrington and Lord Hacking, I have to say that we do not want to do anything that would delay the Bill. We want its key statutes to be on the books as soon as possible. Being blunt, the key players who are talking about to buy-to-let mortgages have known that this is coming for a long time. They really should have been on it for months. If they have not, I am not quite sure what planet they have been on.

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

Would the noble Baroness kindly help me when I have to write all these tenancy agreements? It takes time.

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[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister very much for her engagement with me, although the letter has not arrived yet. I am in a position of enormous power now, in the sense that this is the very last amendment and I am keeping noble Lords from their drinks and everything else. I am very pleased that the Minister has now reassured me that the cliff edge will not happen just like that as far as financial institutions are concerned, and that there will be time for preparation.

I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Hacking, for his support and his emphasis on the fact that this was not a political amendment but a practical one. I wish him great success in the work he does with his tenants. Happily, I have someone to help me.

Having thanked everybody for their kind engagement and sometime support, I have pleasure in withdrawing the amendment.

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

My Lords, before the noble Lord sits down—

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Lord Hacking (Lab)]

I am entitled to intervene here. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his words and the Minister for reassuring me that more time will be given, and more time for me to rewrite these tenancy agreements.

Amendment 122 withdrawn.