Homelessness Reduction Bill — House of Commons, 2017-01-27
Topic: Housing
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Restriction on the termination of assured shorthold tenancies— ‘(1) After section 19A of the Housing Act 1988 (Assured shorthold tenancies: post-Housing Act 1996 tenancies) insert— "Section 19B longer term tenancies Any assured shorthold tenancy (other than one where the landlord is a private registered provider of social housing) granted on or after April 1, 2018 cannot be terminated by the landlord within thirty six months of being granted other than for the breach of a an express or implied term of the tenancy if the termination would result in the tenant becoming homeless. It is an implied term of such a tenancy that the tenant may terminate the tenancy by giving two months’ written notice to the landlord." (2) In Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (Recovery of possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) insert— "(4ZAA) In the case of a dwelling-house in England no notice under subsection (4) may be given for thirty six months after the beginning of the tenancy."" This new clause is an amendment to section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 which would prevent landlords from using the "notice only" grounds for possession for the first three years of the tenancy by private sector landlords where the tenant would become homeless. New clause 3—Controls on rent increases within a tenancy— ‘(1) After section 23 of the Housing Act 1988 insert— "Section 23A: rent increase (1) This section applies to any assured shorthold tenancy granted on or after 1 April 2018 in respect of any property in England other than one granted by a private registered provider of social housing (2) It is an implied term of all such tenancies that the rent may only be increased in any year on the anniversary of the commencement of the tenancy and that the rent may increase by no more than the percentage specified by the Office for National Statistics as the Consumer Prices Index figure for the month immediately preceding the proposed increase if there is a significant risk that that tenant would become homeless (3) Any term of the tenancy (or any other agreement, whether between the landlord and tenant or any third party) which is inconsistent with subsection (2) is of no effect (4) The landlord must serve written notice of the new rent on the tenant and any other party who is responsible for the payment of the rent (5) The notice must be in a prescribed form (or substantially to the same effect) and must specify— (a) the present rent; (b) the percentage increase proposed; and (c) the proposed new rent, together with any other matters or information which may be prescribed (6) A person served with such a notice may, within 28 days of being so served, refer it to the appropriate tribunal for a determination as to the validity of the notice and, if necessary, to examine the risk of the tenant becoming homeless (7) Should a court or tribunal in any proceedings find that the landlord has received rent in excess of that permitted by this section, it must either— (a) order that the excess rent be repaid to the tenant (including to any former tenant if the tenancy has come to an end), (b) order that it stands to the credit of the tenant in respect of future rent which will fall due; or, (c) set it off against other sums which the tenant owes to the landlord under the tenancy (8) The Secretary of State has power to prescribe a form for the purposes of this section and may make different provision for Greater London and the rest of England. The power must be exercised within a reasonable period and, in relation to Greater London if the Mayor of London makes a written request that it be exercised and provides a draft form, must be in the form proposed by the Mayor (9) The Secretary of State has power to modify subsection (2) by order and may make different provision for Greater London and the rest of England. Any modification is limited to substituting an increase which is lower than the Consumer Prices Index. That power must be exercised within a reasonable period and, in relation to Greater London if the Mayor of London makes a written request that it be exercised and specifies a particular substitution, must be the substitution specified by the Mayor (10) In this section— "Greater London" shall have the same meaning as in the London Government Act 1963 (c.33) "Mayor of London" shall have the same meaning as in the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (s.29)."" This new clause concerns rent increases. It provides that it is an implied term of all assured shorthold tenancies granted on or after 1 April 2018, that the rent can only go up once a year and by no more than CPI if there is a significant risk of the tenant as a result of the increase becoming homeless. It requires a notice to be given to the tenant, giving them details of the increase and for a right to appeal that notice to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The Secretary of State has a power to prescribe a lower increase and must do so in respect of London if the Mayor of London requests it.