HC Deb 09 April 1968 vol 762 cc220-1W
60. Mr. Hobden

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, what steps he proposes to take against solicitors serving notices to quit on tenants where no contravention of the Rent Acts has taken place.

Mr. MacColl

A notice to quit may sometimes properly be served where there is no contravention of the Rent Act, as where the landlord wishes to occupy the premises himself. My hon. Friend may have in mind the possibility that notice to quit may be served to intimidate tenants into giving up possession despite their having security of tenure; such conduct could amount to harassment and the local authority has power to prosecute for this offence. The best safeguard against such conduct is a wider understanding by tenants of the protection the law gives them, and this is one of the points to be stressed in the forthcoming publicity campaign on the Rent Act.

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