§ 57. Mr. Pavittasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many tenants have been evicted under the Rent Act, 1957, in the borough of Willesden to date.
§ Mr. Brooke:As the returns made by the county courts do not distinguish the grounds on which orders for possession are made, I am unable to give the information asked for.
§ 58. Mr. Pavittasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he has considered the evidence sent to him by the hon. Member for Willesden, West, that there will be 500 or 600 applications for suspension of rent agreements in the Willesden area and that, from 1st August, there will be a substantial number of tenants with nowhere to go; and what financial help he intends to give local authorities to meet this and similar situations.
§ Mr. Brooke:The hon. Member implies that expiry of the Landlord and Tenant (Temporary Provisions) Act on 31st July will result in many tenants becoming homeless. I do not think that this will happen. My information is that the number of cases current at 31st December last in which the Willesden 126W County Court had granted suspension of possession orders and the period allowed had not expired, was well under 100. The tenants concerned still have nearly six months in which to make other arrangements if they are not able to come to terms with their present landlords. If there are individual cases of difficulty that call for special help, the local authorities should be able to provide for them within their existing resources.