DETERMINATION OF FAIR RENT (Hansard, 11 June 1980)

§ Mr. Rifkind
I beg to move amendment No. 168, in page 35, line 15, after ' committee ' insert ', subject to the provisions of this section,'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this we may take Government amendments Nos. 169 and 170.

§ Mr. Rifkind
Amendments Nos. 168 and 170 secure the repositioning in the clause of the words subject to the provisions of this section and follow a suggestion made by the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Cook) in Committee.
The purpose of amendment No. 169 is to ensure that a rent officer or rent assessment committee is able, if the occasion arises, to arrive at a fair rent for a property in regard to other property that may not be identical. I understand that the amendment has caused some concern to the Opposition, and I am prepared not to press it so that we may consider the point raised with me by the right hon. Member for Glasgow, Craigton (Mr. Millan).

§ Mr. Millan
Amendment No. 169 concerns me, because it would mean that, in considering a rent, the rent officer or rent assessment committee would be able to look at other rents in the area, even if they were not for comparable properties.
I understand why the Government think that that may be sensible, but I believe that it could have difficult practical consequences for tenants. It is difficult for them to produce evidence of comparable 732 rents for comparable properties. It will be much more difficult if even that qualification is removed from the Bill. The landlord is in a much better position to get evidence of other rents, whether for comparable properties or for those that are not comparable, that suit his arguments. When a matter is under appeal, the rent assessment committees ask tenants to try to bring forward evidence on comparable rents. That causes tenants considerable difficulty.
If the change were made, it would make the position of tenants, vis-a-vis the landlords, extremely weak, because I am sure that the landlord would be in a much better position to produce evidence for the rent assessment committee. I shall be grateful if the Minister will look at the problem again. I understand what is being attempted, but I believe that it could have serious consequences for some tenants.

§ Mr. Allan Stewart (Renfrewshire, East)
I seek an assurance from my hon. Friend the Minister about the effect of clause 41 as revised by the amendment. It is important to put this point on the record. Landlords, including those subject to the fair rent procedure, in both the public and private sectors, may, and do, charge rents below the maximum level. For example, the National Coal Board charges its tenants concessionary rents. That also applies in the private sector. One West Scotland company states : This company has always pursued a policy of registering a few rents and then offering our tenants Rent Agreements at figures considerably below those determined by the Rent Assessment Committee. At present some 97 per cent. of our tenants have such Agreements". The assurance that I seek from the Minister is that the clause, as revised, will not result in rent officers and rent assessment committees being able to use the lower rents as the basis for reducing the level of registered rents. That would be unfair to property owners, and would discourage them from charging rents below the registered levels. I hope that the Minister will give an assurance that the clause, as revised, will not have that effect.

§ Mr. Rifkind
The fair rent is the maximum rent that may be charged, and no more than that. As my hon. Friend 733 indicated, there is a precedent with the National Coal Board, which is charging below maximum rents. Rent officers and rent assessment committees take into account those factors wherever there are special circumstances which indicate that the rent charged is not a comparable rent. They make allowance for that, and there is nothing in the Bill that would prevent them from continuing to do so in future.