§ 42 and 43. Mr. Jannerasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs(1) whether he is aware that when a dwellinghouse, the rateable value of which is less than £40, in London, or £30 elsewhere in England or Wales, has become, or will become, decontrolled in consequence of the provisions of the Rent Act, 1957, the landlord can gain entry by such devices as pretending to inspect the state of repair of the premises, entering through an open window or by unlocking an outside door, provided that force is not used to eject the tenant there from if the tenancy has been terminated by the landlord; and whether he will introduce legislation making it compulsory for the order of a court to be obtained before a landlord can take possession of such premises;
(2) whether he is aware that thousands of tenants of dwelling-houses, the rateable value of which is less than £40, in London, or £30 elsewhere in England or Wales, received, in the first week in April, notices to quit, and that in Greater London some 60,000 quit notices have been received and some 10,000 tenants are due to get out; and whether he will make a further statement indicating when Her Majesty's Government propose that an Act to protect such tenants from being ejected without recourse to the courts will be brought into effect.
§ Mr. H. BrookeThe hon. Member appears to be confused. If, in fact, he is referring to premises above, not below, these limits of rateable value, I would refer him to the terms of the Bill I introduced last week.
§ Mr. JannerIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is not I who am confused, but he? Will he look at the Question again, and tell the House what he proposes to do about houses which are not intended to be included in the Bill that he is presenting, and from which tenants will be turned out without having any recourse at all to the law courts? Will he give an undertaking to look into the matter again, so that, for example, the family of a widow who became a tenant in consequence of her husband's 773 death, shall not be turned out on the street by the landlord without his being compelled to go to court for an order? Will the right hon. Gentleman please withdraw the silly suggestion he made that this is a confusing Question?
§ Mr. BrookeI am quite unable to understand the implication in the hon. Gentleman's Question that 60,000 notices to quit have been served on people who enjoyed security of tenure.
§ Mr. JannerOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is a Minister entitled, for the purpose of covering himself, to ask that two Questions, relating to entirely different matters, shall be taken together, and then try to get out of his difficulty by pretending that they both relate to the same thing?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat must be a matter between the hon. Member and the Minister.
§ Mr. JannerIn view of the most unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's reply, I beg to give notice that I propose to raise the matter on the Adjournment.