§ 1. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will state the number of decisions made to the latest available date by the rent assessment committees; of these, how many increased the rentals fixed by the rent officers, how many reduced them and how many confirmed them; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Minister of Housing and Local Government (Mr. Richard Crossman)168 applications for registration of rent had been decided by rent assessment committees in England up to 9th July. The rent officer's determination was reduced in 22, confirmed in 48 and increased in 98 of these. But the original rent was reduced in 133, confirmed in 8 and increased in 27 of these same cases, and it is by this result that the effect of the Rent Act should be measured.
§ Mr. AllaunBut will the Minister explain why five times as many revisions have been in favour of landlords rather than in the tenants' favour? Second, as the lawyers and valuers on these committees are clearly failing to disregard the housing shortage which causes the high rents, will my right hon. Friend now consider amending the Act and changing the composition of the committees?
§ Mr. CrossmanNo, Sir, I shall not. It is far too early to judge the way the Act is working. In the early days, my hon. Friend staged an enthusiastic Adjournment debate, saying that everything was going ecstatically well from his point of view. I warned him to be a bit careful. Now, he is correspondingly depressed. All I am saying is, "Give it a few months to run". When my hon. Friend asks me why there are differences, the answer is that each makes an independent assessment, each makes up its own mind. I am not in the least surprised that at the beginning, before we settle down, there are marked differences on occasion between them.
§ 13. Mr. Grantasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how 351 many cases have been heard by rent assessment panels since the passing of the Rent Act, 1965; and in what percentage of those cases the rent was increased and decreased, respectively.
§ Mr. CrossmanUp to 9th July, rent assessment committees had determined fair rents in 168 applications for registration. The original rent was increased in 16 per cent., unchanged in 5 per cent. and reduced in 79 per cent. of these cases.
§ Mr. GrantIs the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that the committees are working fairly and judiciously? Does he agree with the chairman of the London committee who said recently that the criticisms of some of the right hon. Gentleman's hon. Friends below the Gangway showed that they simply did not understand the Act?
§ Mr. CrossmanThe committees are working extremely well. We are having variations, as was inevitable in the early stages, between the judgment of the rent officer and the rent assessment committee, or between this committee and that. I am hoping that after three or four months, after talking it over with the chairmen, we shall be able to issue a general directive to rent officers defining the experience of deciding a fair rent with precision, which will enable us to get the kind of uniformity out of this experience we all desire.