Furnished Houses (Rent Control) (Hansard, 31 July 1947)

HC Deb 31 July 1947 vol 441 cc620-1 620

§ 39. Mr. Sparks
asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to prolong the continuance in force of the Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, which is due to expire on 31st December, 1947; and if he will state the number of cases submitted to Furnished Houses Rent Tribunals in the London and Greater London areas for each month to the nearest convenient date, giving the reasons for any decline in the number of cases submitted.

§ Mr. Bevan
The question of prolonging the operation of the Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, is under consideration. As the answer to the latter part of the Question involves a number of figures I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Most of the Tribunals in London were established over nine months ago and it was to be expected that the initial volume of applications would fall off.

§ Mr. Sparks
Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether there is any possibility of amending the Act to provide a greater period of security of tenure beyond the existing three months, because it is the experience of large numbers of tenants who submit cases to these tribunals that subsequently they are dispossessed of the accommodation, and in the case of the Southern Tribunal where 107 tenants referred their cases no less than 64 were subsequently displaced by the landlords at the end of the three months' period?

§ Mr. Bevan
I should like to receive additional evidence for the last part of my hon. Friend's statement, because it sounds very alarming. His supplementary goes very wide of the original question and is concerned with the content of an Act itself. I would point out that two matters must always be taken into consideration. If we give too long security to a tenant it is not always the tenant of a landlord but the tenant of a principal tenant who will be protected and we might shut off a great deal of accommodation which would otherwise be available. These facts can be taken into account by the House in three months when the Act expires, but I think that the Act on the whole has worked remarkably well.

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§ Mr. Janner
Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that considerable advantage is taken of the short period of notice by landlords who are affected when the rents are reduced, and will he realise that it is a very important matter from the point of view of the tenants themselves as there are other matters which ought to be taken into consideration when the Act is continued?

§ Mr. Bevan
In the first place, my hon. Friend must bear in mind that one of the very important by-products of the rent tribunals is to keep the rents of furnished lettings down where no appeal has been made to the tribunal. In the second place, where there are hardships created quite often I have given the power of requisition in order to prevent landlords from imposing hardships on tenants. Thirdly, my hon. Friend is really going

FURNISHED HOUSES (RENT CONTROL) ACT, 1946.
Number of references made to Tribunals each month in Central London and Outer London.
	Central London.	Outer London.
Month.	Referred for first time.	Referred for reconsideration.	Total.	Number of Tribunals at end of month.	Referred for first time	Referred for reconsideration.	Total.	Number of Tribunals at end of month.
June, 1946	…	10	0	10	2	—	—	—	—
July, 1946	…	156	0	156	4	—	—	—	—
August, 1946	…	325	0	325	8	4	0	4	2
September, 1946	…	383	0	383	8	174	0	174	6
October, 1946	…	509	11	520	9	196	1	197	7
November, 1946	…	574	6	580	9	264	2	266	8
December, 1946	…	400	32	432	9	175	5	180	9
January, 1947	…	472	24	496	9	184	6	190	9
February, 1947	…	1,505	30	1,535	9	166	3	169	9
March, 1947	…	432	27	459	9	186	11	197	9
April, 1947	…	345	52	397	9	190	58	248	9
May, 1947	…	217	50	267	9	172	32	204	9
June, 1947	…	217	55	272	9	103	12	115	9
Note.—References for Central London made in February, 1947, include 1,158 made to the East London Tribunal chiefly in respect of large blocks of flats referred in their entirety either by lessors or by the local authority. The remaining 8 Tribunals received in all rather fewer references than in January or March.