Ten peers plotting to derail Renters’ Rights Bill are landlords ...Middle East

Ten peers trying to water down laws to protect renters’ rights are landlords, raising concerns about the plans being “held hostage to vested interests”, The i Paper can reveal.

The members of the House of Lords have been accused of trying to delay the Renters’ Rights Bill and get concessions from the Government by tabling amendments that favour the interests of landlords.

Their proposed changes, which include trying to keep fixed-term tenancies, cutting fines for rogue landlords and adding new grounds for evicting tenants, will be scrutinised by other peers, many of whom have financial interests in property.

Nearly one in five (162) sitting peers are landlords, and more than 100 have financial interests in property, lettings and real estate, according to research by the Renters’ Reform Coalition shared with The i Paper.

In total, more than one in four peers have ties to the property sector, the research found.

Analysis of the data by The i Paper found that at least 10 of the peers tabling amendments that advance the interests of landlords are landlords themselves.

Renters’ groups fear the efforts of peers, aided by the Conservative Party, to frustrate the progress of the bill could push the Government to water down measures opposed by landlords.

Jane Scott, a shadow housing minister and Tory peer, recently hosted private talks with big landlords about how to thwart the bill, which will ban no-fault evictions, The i Paper understands.

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She told the private roundtable she would do everything she could to force debate on multiple amendments as a way of delaying the bill, saying she thought she could hold it up until the autumn at least. A potential legal challenge was also discussed.

Lord Strasburger, Lord Carrington and Lord Jamieson, who are all landlords, have proposed amendments that would allow for fixed-term tenancies to continue. The bill is intended to abolish these in favour of month-to-month tenancies to give renters more flexibility.

The Earl of Kinnoull, a Conservative peer who receives rent from cottages, has proposed reductions to fines for landlords who fail to join a new database or provide fraudulent information. Another of his amendments would make it harder for landlords to be fined by courts if they discriminate against tenants on benefits or with children.

Lord Hacking, another landlord and Labour peer, has proposed that renters should pay their landlords’ legal costs if they challenge a rent increase and are unsuccessful, which could deter tenants from making claims.

In addition to Lord Jamieson and Lord Kinnoull, two more of the peers are Tories: the Earl of Leicester and Lord Jackson of Peterborough.

Two are crossbench – Lord Carrington and Lord Carter of Haslemere – and another, Lord Truscott, is not affiliated to a party but was a Labour minister in the 2000s.

The tenth peer, the Lord Bishop of Manchester, is a member of the Church of England.

‘Vested interests’ trying to delay bill

Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at housing charity Shelter, said it “beggars belief that a handful of self-interested landlords in the House of Lords are cooking up cynical schemes designed to bring the progress of the Renters’ Rights Bill to a standstill”. 

She said: “Renting reform is too important and too urgent to be held hostage by vested interests. 

“If the Government is serious about making renting more secure and affordable, it must resist this last-ditch attempt to weaken the Bill.”

She said the promised reforms are essential, adding that the Government should go further by banning unnecessary demands for guarantors and limiting in-tenancy rent increases that force renters out of their homes. Such amendments have been proposed by other peers.

Anny Cullum, political officer at renters’ union ACORN, said landlords within the Lords are “acting in their own interests and attempting to weaken incoming protections for renters”.

She condemned a “co-ordinated attempt to frustrate and delay the progress of these vital reforms within the Lords”.

She added: “We urge the Government to crack on with passing the Renters’ Rights Bill – changes that could improve things for millions of people in this country – and call on these Lords to stop playing political games with the lives and wellbeing of renters.”

Who are the 10 landlords?

Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, urged the Government to “hold their nerve and not give an inch to the vested interests trying to water down this crucial legislation”.

He said: “The idea that unelected peers, many of whom are deeply tied to existing property interests, could delay or water down these vital reforms – reforms which the government won a landslide majority on – is appalling.

“Millions of renters are counting on the government to fix our broken renting system.”

Joe Powell, a Labour MP and member of the Housing Select Committee, said: “Under the previous Tory government, the Renters’ Reform Bill was continually delayed and watered down to the point that it wouldn’t have had as much impact for my residents as it should.

“I’m not surprised that a similar group of people are coming back to have another go.”

He said the bill must be passed without being watered down.

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After the bill is scrutinised in the Lords and amendments are made, it will return to the Commons, where MPs will approve its final form. Peers have the ability to drag out this process.

Lord Hacking, Lord Jackson of Peterborough, Lord Jamieson, the Earl of Leicester, the Lord Bishop of Manchester and Lord Truscott did not respond to requests for comment.

Lord Carrington said: “To conform with parliamentary rules I declare any relevant interest when I speak in the Lords. I also only tend to speak when I have knowledge of the issue involved.”

The Earl of Kinnoull said his beneficial ownership rental property is in Scotland so the scope for a conflict is “thus very much reduced”.

He said: “I act as an unpaid trustee for some Scottish trusts which have tenants but where I have no beneficial interest. This would also seem to be a very much reduced conflict potential.

“My amendments are technical and probing in nature, and about pet damage insurance, and intended to be helpful to English tenants who want to have pets.

“I have also signed Lord Etherton’s amendments about court and local authority judicial technical issues.”

Lord Carter said his position is “supportive of the bill as strengthening the position of tenants against rogue and unscrupulous landlords”.

Lord Strasburger said he was a landlord and a shareholder in a local letting agency, which gets almost 100 per cent five star reviews from tenants because it is “very ethical in its business practices”.

He said: “I always declare my interests in meetings about the Renters’ Rights Bill. I support the Bill in general but I do have a few concerns that mainly disadvantage tenants in my honest opinion.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said the party has been warning that the bill is “deeply flawed” and will “lead to a reduced supply of rental homes”, which will increase the cost of renting and affect young people.

He added: “As is standard practice with all legislation, the official opposition engages privately with a range of stakeholders to hear their views.”

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