HC Deb 27 June 1979 vol 969 cc426-8
13. Mr. Renton

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he proposes to take to make private rented accommodation more freely available; and when these will be introduced.

Mr. Stanley

Our proposals for short fixed-term lettings will be included in the forthcoming housing Bill. Under shorthold, tenants will have security of tenure for the duration of their tenancy agreement, and landlords will be able to let with the certainty of regaining possession at the end of the fixed-term if they wish to. Shorthold will not apply to existing tenants.

Mr. Renton

Since I sought to introduce two Bills in the last Parliament to amend the Rent Act, may I say how pleased I am to hear of the Government's intention in this regard? Will the Minister think again about the new shorthold provisions not covering existing tenants? Will he be including in the Bill a review of the present rent tribunal system?

Mr. Stanley

We are grateful to my hon. Friend for the contribution that he made to this issue in the last Parliament. Our shorthold legislation will not apply to existing tenants. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are conscious of the need to examine afresh the existing rent legislation.

Mr. Douglas-Mann

I accept that the Minister has not had very long to learn about the realities of the privately rented sector. Will he study the minority report of the Francis committee and the technical volumes of the housing policy review? If he does so, he is likely to learn that the effect of what he is proposing, even if it does not apply to existing tenants, will be to reduce the stock of privately rented houses. The only reason that lettings continue is that no practical use can be made of the property except by letting under the Rent Acts. When all those lettings cease the property will be sold.

Mr. Stanley

Experience is completely the converse of what the hon. Gentleman has said. For example, the experience of the past five years, during which the hon. Gentleman's party was in government, was that the privately rented sector lost 125,000 dwellings a year. It is in order to arrest that decline and to create additional rental opportunities that we believe it essential to create a vehicle such as shorthold to increase the availability of rented accommodation.

Mr. Mellor

Is my hon. Friend aware of the recent estimate that there are about 400,000 units of accommodation in London which are not being let because of the Rent Act 1974? Does he agree that the early implementation of the shorthold tenure arrangements will be a major contribution to the alleviation of homelessness in central London?

Mr. Stanley

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. At a time when there are substantial areas of housing stress, it makes no sense not to create the legislative framework to bring into use all the accommodation that is potentially available for renting. That is precisely the purpose of our shorthold legislation.

Mr. Kaufman

If the hon. Gentleman cares so much about private tenants, why will he not legislate to give them the right to buy the houses that they rent?

Mr. Stanley

It is precisely because we care about housing need and are conscious of the fact that about ½ million dwellings have been lost from the privately rented sector that it is not possible statutorily to give private sector tenants the right to buy. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"] Because about ½ million privately rented dwellings become available for re-letting each year, and if a statutory right existed they would not be kept available for renting. It is precisely because those dwellings are needed that we cannot extend a statutory right to buy them.

Mr. Kaufman

If the sale of private rented houses is not a good thing because it will reduce the number available for renting, how can the Minister justify the sale of council houses—which will have precisely the same result?

Mr. Stanley

Because the effect is different. Local authority houses become vacant only every 16 years or so. One is simply transferring dwellings available for renting into dwellings that are available for owner-occupation. We put that policy of extending the right to buy to all council tenants in our manifesto, and made it clear at the election, and the country gave us a decisive mandate to carry it out.