POWERS OF ENTRY (Hansard, 29 April 1996)

§ Mr. Curry
I beg to move amendment No. 77, in page 21, line 36, leave out 'seven' and insert 'not less than 28'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this, it will be convenient to discuss also Government amendments Nos. 78 to 81.

§ Mr. Curry
In Committee, I offered to look again at the way in which the corporation might use the powers of entry contained in clauses 36 and 37. I have concluded that the period of notice that landlords should receive before the corporation uses those powers should be extended from seven to not fewer than 28 days. Amendment No. 77 achieves that aim.
Amendments Nos. 78 and 79 provide the quid pro quo, which is that the landlord, rather than the corporation, should then be responsible for informing tenants that a survey is to take place. That means that the landlord rather than the corporation would communicate with individual tenants, which is a more sensible arrangement.
The penalty clause contained in amendment No. 79 is necessary because a failure by the landlord to give due notice could frustrate the carrying out of the survey. We have built in a penalty clause equivalent to that contained in clause 37, which deals with obstruction of the surveyor by the landlord.
Amendments Nos. 80 and 81 are drafting amendments to the penalty provisions in clause 37.

§ Mr. Raynsford
We welcome the amendments, which again give effect to undertakings given by the Minister in Committee, arising from amendments that were moved by Labour Members and by Liberal Democrat Members. Under the Bill as originally drafted before it was considered in Committee, it seemed possible that tenants could have been guilty of an offence if they refused to 826 allow access to someone seeking to enter their premises under the powers contained in this clause. Clearly that would have been an entirely unsatisfactory arrangement. We therefore welcome the clarification that the liability for an offence does not extend to a tenant.
We also moved the extension of the period from seven to 28 days to give proper notice of the use of such powers. That is an equally welcome clarification. We support those sensible and welcome amendments.

§ Mrs. Maddock
As the hon. Member for Greenwich said, in Committee we discussed the sensitive issue of powers of entry into a person's home. I therefore welcome amendment No. 77. which is in line with amendment No. 137, which I proposed in Committee. I greatly welcome the Minister's comments about giving a duty to a landlord to inform a tenant of entry into that person's home. If I am honest, however, I am slightly disappointed that a tenant will not be given 28 days' notice of that event, but the Minister has honoured his commitment to reconsider the matter. He has come back with some sensible amendments which, with the small proviso that I have expressed, I welcome.