§ 12. Mr. Allasonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek powers to introduce a compulsory register of landlords in England and Wales.
§ Mr. ChannonMy right hon. and learned Friend announced in the debate on the Queen's speech on 6th November that the Government would shortly introduce a measure which will give all residential tenants the right to know who their landlord is. This seems to be more helpful to the tenants.
§ Mr. AllasonI thank my hon. Friend for answering my Question so quickly. Would not such a register help to provide some check on the activities of the less reputable landlords, and also would it not help with the problem of some even less reputable landlords who appear to be based on Dublin and places such as that?
§ Mr. ChannonI would not like to comment on any specific case without notice. If my hon. Friend has a specific case in mind, perhaps he will get in touch with me. I hope that the existence of the new arrangement will be of assistance to tenants, but I must ask the House to await publication of the Bill.
§ Mr. KaufmanDoes the Minister agree that what is required is a register to which landlords would be admitted only if they could guarantee that the premises they owned lived up to certain standards for the tenants who lived in them? If these standards were laid down before landlords were registered, this would help many of my constituents who live in sub-human conditions and who are neglected by landlords, who make fun of those conditions?
§ Mr. ChannonIn so far as it lies within my power, I am anxious to do anything to help tenants who live in unsatisfactory conditions because of unsatisfactory landlords, in that minority of cases. I do not think that the answer necessarily lies in a register, but I think it is right that all tenants should know who their landlord is, and we have had complaints about this matter.
§ Mrs. KnightWill the Minister bear in mind that not all private landlords are bad landlords? Will be undertake that the Government will take no further steps to discourage the private landlord, who is discouraged quite enough already? Will he agree that housing provided by private landlords makes a valuable contribution to the housing situation?
§ Mr. ChannonI agree with my hon. Friend that that contribution is both valuable and crucial. I think I can say from memory that nearly 3 million tenanted dwellings are owned by private landlords. One of the greatest tragedies comes from the Opposition's threat to municipalise all privately-rented property, at a cost of £14,000 million. This will make the housing situation in large cities worse rather than better.
§ Mr. RoseWill the Minister also include on any register those landlords whose properties are vacant? Is he aware that such a register will be of value only if it is a pre-requisite to special grant assistance to local authorities to take over those homes where they are vacant, or where necessary in areas of housing shortage?
§ Mr. ChannonI do not think that a register is necessarily the right way to proceed. I do not intend to have a register. On the question of properties left vacant, perhaps the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Rose) will look at the answer given on this specific point by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State earlier today.