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Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon, 12 July 2012 Labour debate on problems faced by families in the rented housing sector

I am very grateful to my Noble Friend, Baroness Rendell, for initiating our debate today. A debate which is important for individuals and families, but also for our urban and rural communities and our society as a whole. My Noble Friend raises fundamentally disturbing issues affecting thousands and thousands of people up and down the county. A house or a flat is not just a matter of bricks and mortar, it is a home, it provides shelter, sanctuary, safety and has a profound effect on physical and mental wellbeing.

Exorbitant house prices and a scarcity of good quality social housing has forced many families to rely on the private rented sector, where many fall prey to unscrupulous landlords, and are compelled to reside in abysmal living conditions, which fail to meet even the Governments Decent Home Standard (a standard based on the statutory minimum standard for housing).1 The fact that this basic standard is all too often not met is a national disgrace.

Shelter warns that even satisfactory quality homes are too expensive for many, particularly now in the era of the double dip recession. I recently met a family with two children living in an ex council flat in Paddington for which the private landlord charges 2100 a month. That cannot be a fair rent. The rely on the help of housing benefit - but of course it is the landlord who derives the greatest benefit. Just over two in five homes in the private rented sector in England (44%) fail to meet even the Decent Home Standard. This represents a major housing issue, which is undoubtedly contributing to the deterioration of quality of life for many families and individuals in this country.

Poor living conditions create a plethora of social problems affecting all members of society, and also strike at the cohesiveness of the family unit. Substandard accommodation leads to an increased risk of ill health, chronic health conditions, and can lead to poor school performance, particularly for those struggling on the lowest incomes. These are the very people who will be least able to escape

In 2001 guidance (Decent Homes guidance) defined a decent home as one which meets all of the following four

criteria: 1) the statutory minimum standard for housing; 2) is in a reasonable state of repair; 3) has reasonably modern facilities and services; and 4) provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

from poor living conditions as they have fewer and, in most cases, absolutely no alternative housing option.

It is reported that the private rented sector is home to approximately one million families with children, (twice the number of a decade ago). Save the Children warn us that almost two million children in the UK are growing up in cold, damp, temporary or overcrowded housing, (the latest official DCLG estimate). Bad housing has potentially irreversible effects on childrens health, wellbeing and educational achievement, restricting their life chances indefinitely. A childs future health and life prospects are built upon the foundations of the quality of care they receive as a young child.

Because of rising levels of families and individuals forced to rent in the private rented sector, and declining owner occupation, the problems faced by families will undoubtedly increase. Of particular concern is the fact that private rented sector remains subject to inadequate regulation.

In order to strengthen the rights of tenants, Shelter has also called on the government to make a number of crucial changes to housing policy, including: working more closely with local authorities to prioritise the prosecution of rogue landlords; and strengthening the law to permit the banning of people from being a landlord if they have unspent convictions relating to previous landlord offences. Indeed, should unscrupulous landlords who force families to live in squalid conditions not be permanently banned? Save the Children remind us of the 2008 Rugg Review by the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, which proposed PRS regulation, including a national register of landlords, mandatory licensing for letting agents and written Tenancy Agreements.

It is imperative that the quality of private rented sector housing is better regulated, particularly as the significance of the sector continues to rise. Home ownership levels fell from approximately 70% of households in 2001 to 65.2% by 2010, while private renting grew from 10.1% to 17.4%, and social renting decreased from 20% to 17.5%. The exponential rise of the private rented sector, combined with the poor regulation of landlords and substandard condition of many properties, has created abysmal living conditions for many families and individuals.

I would draw Noble Lords attention to what I regard as very good practice in the Labour Council of Newham, led by the excellent Sir Robin Wales. On the basis of a successful pilot of a neighbourhood improvement zone, Newham is now expanding the licensing scheme to include all private landlords in the borough. This is the first ever borough-wide licensing scheme and will give Newham an

unprecedented ability to drive up standards across the borough. The license carries conditions which the landlord or managing agent must abide by, mostly around the management of the property.

The system is financially fair to landlords. Newham are introducing a scaled fee structure so that good landlords do not have to carry the costs of licensing rogue landlords.

The licensing scheme will allow us to identify and engage the non co-operative landlords which simply is not possible with voluntary schemes. Newham will enforce on a worse first basis focusing our activity on non-compliant landlords. Landlords who abide by the conditions of the license will be able to get on with their business without our intervention.

It is that sort of scheme that as a Labour government we will introduce all across this country.

My Lords, we would all agree that the need for security of housing tenure is pivotal to a stable home environment. Private tenants are typically provided with negligible security, largely in part to the prevalent assured short hold tenancy, which is widely used by private landlords.

The Localism Act opened up the prospect of reducing security of tenure for social housing, yet security of tenure in the private rented sector is very weak, (at essentially six months). Dreading eviction, families often do not feel they are able to report instances of disrepair, or problems with damp, for example. In the event they do complain, these requests are frequently ignored, and there is very little recourse for these families. Recent changes to the housing benefit system now setting the limit at the 30th percentile - is causing those reliant on benefit to be restricted to the cheaper end of the market the very properties that typically do not meet even the minimum Decent Home Standard. The under occupation rules for social housing will force some families out of existing accommodation and into the private rented sector, adding yet greater pressure. Research by Shelter and other housing organisations indicates that a large proportion of private rented properties bar housing benefit claimants from private tenancies.

Housing standards must be raised in all sectors, so that all rented sector housing meets the Decent Home Standard.

Further to this, we hear whispers that a government commissioned review of the private rented sector by Sir Adrian Montague is likely to recommend sweeping changes to planning and funding rules that will favour the private rented sector over building new affordable homes, which will further exacerbate limited opportunity for home ownership.

It is also suggested that this may extend to recommendations to the government to offer loans, in place of grants, to support large-scale new build private rented sector schemes.

This could have devastating consequences for the nurturing and development of the affordable housing sector. I would be grateful if the Noble Baroness, the Minister, could give me an assurance that the government is not abandoning an affordable housing strategy, nor seeking to replace social housing with wide-scale private rented housing (PRS), and a promise that it will not be distorting housing policy towards PRS, at the expense of the protection of social housing.

The degree of housing need in our country, driven by longer life expectancy and possibly an increasing tendency for single households, must be addressed by the Government. The need for new homes to be delivered is at least 240,000 per year to meet the formation of new households. In 2008, a National Housing and Planning Advice Unit assessment showed that a minimum of 240,000 homes would be needed annually to keep pace with demand. Just 102,730 new homes were built in 2010. This represents over 15,000 less homes than the previous year and certainly fewer than were built in the last year of the Labour Government. Government initiatives are not delivering.

Labour did make some significant progress when it was in Government. Labours Decent Homes programme for Council housing made a significant difference to the quality of council housing. Labour planned to improve regulation of the private rented sector, but these plans have since been abandoned by the coalition. However, I readily admit that in Government we did not do enough and housing must and will be a key priority of the next Labour Government.

The quality of living standards for families and individuals must be addressed, and the plight of those living in substandard accommodation acknowledged. Poor housing and living conditions create a plethora of social problems that will touch and be detrimental for all parts of society. Sadly poor housing and anti-social behaviour are often linked. This affects individuals and families but also the wider community. The housing crisis will not abate, and the Government must engage with the wider debate, and take steps to address the growing housing crisis. 4

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