§ Mr. Tugendhatasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will take action to prevent landlords from using fictitious schedules of dilapidations to pressure tenants into forgoing their rights ;
(2) whether he will take steps to ensure that landlords issuing schedules of dilapidations employ only qualified surveyors to prepare them.
§ Mr. AmeryEveryone would agree that tenants should be afforded full protection against abuses of this kind. But both the Lord Chancellor and I consider that the existing law in fact affords such protection. It is vital to encourage those affected to seek immediate legal advice. I welcome Press publicity on this subject and I am considering whether further steps can be taken to alert leaseholders to their rights wherever such abuses come 61W to light. If tenants were put under pressure by the use of fictitious schedules of dilapidations, I am advised that the question of prosecution under the Theft Act, 1968, Section 16 or 21, might properly be referred to the appropriate authority.