§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effects the reduction from 13 to eight weeks for the time a landlord may repossess his property will have on tenants; and if implementation of such a policy will be accompanied by legislation allowing courts to safeguard the security of tenant in extenuating circumstances, with special reference to a delay in the payment of housing benefit. [41057]
§ Mr. ClappisonFor many landlords, having a tenant who does not pay the rent can be very difficult, especially if there is a loan to repay. Under the legislative change we propose, a tenant will have to be at least eight weeks in arrears before the landlord can serve two weeks' notice of possession proceedings. By the time the case reaches court, the tenant will generally owe substantially more than eight weeks' rent. The change is not expected to cause any particular problems for tenants who claim housing benefit—about 80 per cent. of housing benefit cases are possessed within 14 days of all the required information being received. Where claims are delayed, through no fault of the claimant, local authorities have a statutory duty to make payments on account. We do not propose any additional legislative safeguards.