Industry Leaders & Tory Members try to Stop the Renters Rights Bill

According to the Guardian newspaper, a number of senior Tory members, headed by shadow housing minister Jane Scott and large portfolio landlords, investors, and estate agents, have met at a roundtable meeting to discuss ways to delay and/or stop the upcoming Renters Rights Bill.

Although the Conservative party tried to pass a similar version of the bill, it now shows a collusion between the property industry and the Tories.

Polly Neate, Shelter's chief executive, said: “England’s 11 million private renters have been waiting years for genuine security and safety in their homes. With reform finally on the horizon, it’s utterly disgraceful that a handful of self-interested peers are resorting to cynical delay tactics designed to slow the progress of the renters’ rights bill to a crawl.”

In contrast a Conservative party spokesperson stated: “The Conservatives have been warning that this bill is deeply flawed, as it will lead to a reduced supply of rental homes … As is standard practice with all legislation, the official opposition engages privately with a range of stakeholders to hear their views.”

Measures in the Renters Rights Bill include the prevention of landlords accepting more rent for a property than the amount for which it has been listed, and a complete ban on no-fault evictions, which has already seen many landlords leaving the sector due to what they see as too much protection for tenants, with little, to no protection, for landlords.

Baroness Scott's roundtable meeting included representatives from Dexters estate agents and the NRLA (National Residential Landlord Association), among others, such as the property group, Get Living. Representatives from Get Living said they had instructed a barrister to look into the possibility of bringing a legal challenge against the bill, based on human rights grounds. But they also added the company wanted the bill to succeed, however: “There is a group in the professionally managed rental sector that significantly contributes to new housing stock that are concerned about the legal issues the government faces if the bill proceeds in its current format.”

Scott told the meeting she would do everything to delay the bill, stating she thinks she could hold it up until the autumn, at least, the Guardian reports.