In his speech to Conference in Liverpool today
(Monday), MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing
Secretary, will offer support to the 11.5 million people who rent
from private landlords.
He will announce plans to put power in the hands
of tenants through the creation of a £20m fund to set up and
support the expansion of renters’ unions.
Tenants have been hit with a rise of more than
£1,800 a year in private rents since 2010. And the end of a
private tenancy is the biggest single cause of homelessness in
the UK, with the number of cases more than trebling in the last
eight years.
There are 1.3 million sub-standard private rented
properties in England, home to 490,000 families with
children.
Research by Shelter in 2014 found six in 10
renters have experienced at least one of the following problems
over the last 12 months: damp, mould, leaking roofs or windows,
electrical hazards, animal infestations, and gas leaks.
Renters’ unions, which are well established in
many countries, such as Germany, will:
· Provide practical support and
information, including being accompanied by an experienced
representative to meetings with landlords
· Support tenants in disputes with
landlords
· Give renters a stronger national
voice and coordinate national campaigns to demand better
conditions and a fairer system
Labour will scrap the law that allows landlords
to evict tenants without good reason and reverse cuts to legal
aid for housing related cases, as well as introducing three-year
tenancies, banning letting agent fees, and introducing new
minimum legal standards to ensure homes are “fit for human
habitation”.
Labour would also give cities the power to
introduce rent controls, so landlords can’t use rent hikes as an
alternative way of getting rid of tenants.
MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing
Secretary, is expected to say:
“Tenants who rent from private landlords have
been hit hard by the housing crisis.
“Labour’s commitment is clear: we’ll give renters
new rights to control rental costs, improve conditions and
increase security.
“Renters’ unions help put power in the hands of
tenants.
“And the next Labour government will fund set-up
costs for these unions across the country to support renters to
defend their rights, and make the housing market fairer.”
ENDS
Notes
· A Labour government will make £20m
available to fund start-up costs, staggered over three years.
Organisations would be eligible to bid for this money to set up
or grow independent renters’ unions to provide advice, advocacy
and representation on behalf of private tenants. The expectation
is that established renters’ unions will become self-funding
through member subscriptions would follow.
· The private rented sector has
ballooned in recent years, with 4.7m households, or over 11.5m
people, now renting from a private landlord. This is more than
the number of current trade union members which stands at just
over 6mhttps://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/trade-union-membership-growing-there%E2%80%99s-still-work-do
· Renters’ unions are well
established in countries such as Germany. According to recent
research by the Institute for Public Policy Research: “The German
Tenants ‘Association (DMB) represents around 320 distinct
tenants’ associations who provide legal cover and advice to their
members in exchange for membership fees. The 320 organisations
that are members of the union are estimated to represent around
1.3 million tenant households in Germany, or some 3 million
tenants. https://www.ippr.org/files/publications/pdf/lessons-from-germany-jan17.pdf
