35. Miss Leeasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will introduce legislation to enable local authorities to purchase houses or blocks of flats where landlords charge unduly high rents even after having been given warning by rent tribunals and advised by them regarding what would be reasonable charges.
§ Mr. H. BrookeIf a rent tribunal fixes a rent for a house or flat coming within their jurisdiction, that rent must be registered with the local authority. It is then an offence to require or receive a higher rent. I have no reason to think that these powers are inadequate to secure that decisions come to by tribunals are observed.
Miss LeeIf the Minister will not accept my suggestion, will he ensure that tribunals are once more brought to the public notice and that their services are extended? Is the Minister aware that it is now becoming impossible for thousands of people to meet extortionate rents and that they simply do not know where to turn?
§ Mr. BrookeThere was a short debate about rent tribunals the other day on the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill. Most people know of the existence of the tribunals and of the facilities they offer, and I receive remarkably few complaints nowadays about the work of the tribunals or about their decisions being ignored.