§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the rent assessment panel was set up; what are its functions and the area of its jurisdiction; and if he will list the present members, stating in each case the length of service and the number of meetings it has had in 1975 and where.
§ Mr. ArmstrongRent assesment panels were first established in England under the Rent Act 1965. There are 15 such panels, each with a geographical area, and their members are appointed to rent assessment committees and rent tribunals, both of which exercise functions in respect of private rented dwellings. Rent assessment committees deal with objections to fair rents as fixed by rent officers in cases where there is a non-resident landlord. Rent tribunals consider applications for security of tenure and the fixing of reasonable rents where the landlord is resident. Meetings are held as and when required in locations throughout the country.
Members of the panels are appointed for three-year renewable terms. There are some 870 members, and the current list is placed annually in the Library of the House. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales have responsibility for similar panels in Scotland and Wales.