Section 21 Evictions

It is very much a concern. I will come on to retaliatory evictions in a minute when I talk about ...

My hon. Friend is right that most landlords are responsible, but that is not really the point. Th...

That is absolutely right. It is important to address the points from landlords. Having seen some ...

Is it not true that we want to make sure that good landlords remain good landlords? This change i...

It is absolutely true that good landlords should have no reason to fear a change in policy that r...

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech. Does she agree that section 21 evictions can ups...

That point is absolutely central to the argument, and I will come to it in a minute.

On the...

The major trauma, of course, is for the tenants being evicted, but there is also an impact on loc...

Of course it does. As we have been discussing in the context of the Homelessness Reduction Act 20...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful speech, and the examples she is giving emphasise why it is imp...

It is a fair point. As always, a balance has to be struck. The private rented sector is important...

I know that it is unusual to make an intervention from the Front Bench, but the situation that th...

That is absolutely right.

To add to that interesting argument, section 21 has been abolished in Scotland, which is a differ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that point. Certainly the landlord associations and landlords...

I am entirely persuaded that landlords who issue a notice in a cynical, cruel and egregious way—i...

As my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) said, there is the experience of Sc...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) on securing this importa...

indicated dissent.

The Minister is shaking her head. However, where we have had a landlord licensing scheme in a sma...

We had very fruitful discussions with a Minister about the need for a private sector blanket ban ...

I am grateful for that intervention; it is really helpful. I think that such a policy will make a...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Hollobone.

I congratulate the hon. Membe...

It is a pleasure to say a few words with you in the Chair, Mr Hollobone. I thank the hon. Member ...

On a point of order, Mr Hollobone. I failed to draw attention to my entry in the Register of Memb...

This might be the time to do mine, too. Thank you, Mr Hollobone.

2.28 pm

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone, more than ever when we have the ...

If I had known, I would have brought my casework.

Settle down, everyone. I do not need to speak for very long, because my hon. Friend the Member fo...

Does my hon. Friend find in his constituency, as I do in mine, that by the time families get thei...

My hon. Friend is right. It is almost tormenting people, and these are the people in a preferenti...

Take it or leave it.

Yes, take it or leave it. At that point, one of the children turns 18 and is not in full-time edu...

Does that not remind us that, although the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill is a positiv...

My hon. Friend is right. We tend, rightly, to focus on bad landlords. I think we all agree that t...

Is it not also the case that, because tenants do not necessarily know their rights or have access...

I know that my hon. Friend is, like me, a great rooter around inside plastic carrier bags when th...

I hate to extend my hon. Friend’s peroration because I am desperate to get in myself, but he remi...

If my hon. Friend wants to pop back to her office, I can keep things going until she comes back.<...

I have no doubt about that.

What my hon. Friend says is absolutely true: tenants are damned if they do and damned if they don...

The hon. Gentleman knows how fond I am of him and his remarks, but his slightly party political p...

You’re in the minority here—you should be careful!

I thought I was making one of my most conciliatory speeches in the past 13 years. I am sure that ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

In a moment.

I should not look a gift horse in the mouth, because the hon. Member for Chelt...

And less long-winded!

We live in hope.

We will hear from the new shadow Minister in a moment, but I hope she will not take it amiss if I...

I am always delighted to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter), who a...

The lack of social housing is at the root of this huge problem. We should not play a blame game h...

I am absolutely fully committed to building social housing and ensuring that the people I represe...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. I start by welcoming the Under-Sec...

My hon. Friend spoke about tenants not knowing where to go to receive advice. One of the biggest ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have a personal understanding of that situation, particular...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. I refer Members to my entry in the...

The Minister highlights important and hard-won preconditions for taking eviction proceedings, but...

Fortunately, as we have so much time, I have an extremely long speech and the hon. Gentleman migh...

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way; she knows that I have a soft spot for her. What wil...

I am sure that the hon. Lady has espoused the brilliance of the licensing scheme in Newham and th...

We will talk about it outside.

We will indeed; I would be delighted to have that conversation.

As I stressed at the start ...

I thank the Minister for her further explanation of the point about the Homelessness Reduction Ac...

No, she cannot.

The hon. Member for West Ham says from a sedentary position that I cannot. The absolute truth is ...

They will not.

They will not go? Okay, we will find out.

The hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) mentione...

I fear that the Minister may have misunderstood what I meant. We need to build social homes for r...

Fortunately, as I go on with my speech, the hon. Lady will hear even more good news.

We are...

The Minister is being incredibly generous in giving way. On the lifting of the HRA cap, which has...

From memory, if a local council wants to go back into the market, as long as it builds a minimum ...

I will not detain hon. Members long. I am very grateful to the hon. Members who came along this a...