Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town To ask Her Majesty’s
Government whether they are planning to introduce legislation to
require letting agents to join a registration scheme. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities
and Local Government and Northern Ireland Office (Lord Bourne of
Aberystwyth) (Con) My Lords, my right honourable friend the
Secretary of...Request free trial
Asked by
-
of Kentish Town
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to
introduce legislation to require letting agents to join a
registration scheme.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Communities and Local Government and Northern Ireland Office
(Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth) (Con)
My Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State
recently announced a package of measures better to protect
tenants, including that all letting agents will have to
register with an appropriate organisation. This will give
landlords and tenants confidence that their agent meets
minimum standards. On 18 October we published a call for
evidence, seeking views on the regulation of letting and
managing agents. The Government will consider the feedback
and work with the sector to shape the regulatory framework
ahead of introducing legislation.
-
of Kentish Town
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for that Answer. As he knows, I have
already welcomed the commitment that letting agents will in
the future be required to register. However, I question the
phrase “in the future”. As the Minister knows, the Government
agreed in March to introduce client money protection for
letting agents. It is now the last day in October. Perhaps he
can give some reassurance to the House that both client money
protection and this new measure will happen without any
delay.
-
I thank the noble Baroness, whom I know has taken an interest
in client money protection in particular. She has been very
patient; I know that previously I have said “in due course”,
“soon” and “very soon”. I can confirm to her that it will be
this week. I hope that that pleases her.
-
(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister realise that although this is a
good first step and will certainly do something to control
rogue letting agents, there is a great need to control rogue
landlords as well? Is it not time to give the power back to
local authorities to check more carefully on properties, in
order to be sure that they are legally sublet and not just
converted for pure commercial gain, thereby risking people
losing their housing?
-
My Lords, my noble friend has raised this issue on occasion;
I am grateful to her. She will be aware that there are
considerable powers to proscribe bad landlords, which are
exercised, and there are powers to fine them. We will bring
in additional banning provisions before next April, which I
am sure will please her. However, there is already a battery
of powers with regard to poor landlords.
-
(LD)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for confirming that the
measure, which was really an enabling part of the
legislation, will be introduced shortly. However, can he and
his department also commit to putting real resources into
enforcement to ensure that rogue letting agents are driven
out of the market? Furthermore, will he take back to the
Government the possibility of ring-fencing the fines and
compliance costs so that, when those moneys are obtained by
local authorities, they can be used for enforcement rather
than for other matters?
-
I am grateful to the noble Lord, whom I know has done a lot
of work on client money protection. I reiterate that the
consultation will be forthcoming this week, along with the
draft Bill on letting agents. The noble Baroness, Lady
Grender, who is not in her place at present, has worked hard
on that. We are concentrating resources on tackling bad
landlords and are doing what we can to improve the market,
which is important to us all.
-
(Ind
UU)
My Lords, the concentration on bad landlords seems to be a
precursor to a judgment of all landlords. How will the
Minister ensure that good landlords, who serve a vital role
in our society, are not so labelled?
-
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for that question,
as it gives me the opportunity to say that most landlords are
good landlords. I do not agree with the hypothesis that, by
bringing in legislation to deal with poor landlords, we are
saying that all of them are poor, any more than the Theft Act
means that everybody is a criminal.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, tax evasion by landlords is rife in London. Could a
registration scheme be set up in such a way that an agency
that registered had to inform HMRC of the tenancies in which
it had been involved?
-
My Lords, if the noble Lord is aware of any tax evasion, I
would be very grateful to hear about it and would then pass
the information on to the Treasury in the usual way. I am not
aware of this being as widespread as he perhaps suggests, but
obviously the Government are keen to make sure that everybody
pays the appropriate taxation that is due, so I would be glad
to see any evidence that he has.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister mentioned that new powers may be
coming in for local authorities to tackle errant landlords.
Will they include holiday lets, which cause a major problem?
Often companies buy up 70% to 80% of villages, causing all
sorts of social problems. Can that be brought into the raft
of actions that the Government are talking about?
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My Lords, I know that the noble Lord speaks with particular
feeling about his area of the Lake District, and I am aware
of the pressures that sometimes exist there. As he will be
aware, there is separate legislation for short-term lets in
London. A voluntary code has now been adopted by members of
the association relating to short-term holiday lets. I think
that that will make a difference and the department is
looking at it very closely.
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