'Fit For Human Habitation' Amendment May Be Reconsidered After London Fire

A proposed amendment to the government's Housing and Planning Bill which suggests landlords are required to make homes 'fit for human habitation' may be reconsidered following the fire at Grenfell Tower. The amendment was tabled by the Labour Party last year, but was defeated by MPs following a vote of 312 to 219. The proposal was also included in Labour's manifesto for the General Election. According to a report on The London Economic website, Parliament's register of interests shows that 72 of the Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment were themselves private landlords. Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

£5.6bn In Rent On Homes That 'Don’t Meet Legal Standards'

Only about 2,000 landlords have been prosecuted in the last eight years, despite studies suggesting that hundreds of thousands of families are living in dangerously substandard private rented accommodation.  According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, private landlords are taking £5.6bn in rent on homes that “don’t meet legal standards” – £1.3bn of which comes from state housing benefits. The body has said it believes that 740,000 families in the English private rent sector are living in homes that present a severe threat to the occupants’ health. Shelter has put the number of people living in accommodation that is unfit for human habitation or where the landlord exploits or harasses them at more than 250,000. But figures obtained by the Residential Landlords Association showed that 2,006 landlords have been convicted in the last eight years, with the average fine handed down standing at £1,500. Read more on the Guardian website.

UK 'Breaching Human Rights' Over Housing

The UK is in breach of its international human rights duties by failing to provide people with adequate homes in the face of a severe housing crisis, leading charities have claimed. A reduction in social housing in England and inadequate, unaffordable rental accommodation in the private sector is driving a growing number of families into homelessness, the organisations warn in a report. Produced by the group Just Fair, whose members include Crisis, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Save the Children and UNICEF UK, the report argues that the fact the number of individuals forced to sleep rough has risen by 55% since 2010 - with 280,000 households at risk of homelessness - is a breach of the UK's international obligations. Read more on the Sky News website.

Law Requiring Homes Be Fit For Human Habitation Is An Unnecessary Burden

A proposed law that would require landlords to make homes fit for human habitation would be an unnecessary regulatory burden, a Conservative MP has argued. Philip Davies, who derives an income from renting out property, said the new bill proposed by a Labour MP would put “a huge burden on landlords”. “Landlords appear to be an easy target for the Left in this country,” he said during a debate on the proposed Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill. “The overwhelming majority of landlords, and I will put myself in this category, want to do the right thing and wouldn’t ever dream of renting out a property that isn’t in a fit state to be rented out and want to comply with every regulation that’s introduced. It is very difficult to keep tabs on all the things that are expected of you.” Read more on the Independent website.