new bill would allow tenants to sue landlords over poor housing

NEW BILL WOULD ALLOW

TENANTS TO SUE

LANDLORDS OVER POOR

HOUSING

A new bill will give tenants the right to sue their landlords if their rental homes are in a substandard condition if it is passed in Parliament. 

MP Karen Buck has pushed the Homes (Fitness

for Human Habitation) Bill into its second reading today.

 She hopes to recover a law

originally passed in 1885

and last amended in

1957.

It gives tenants the right to a home fit for human habitation if the rent was under £52 per year, or £80 in London.

Past governments have come under pressure to

abolish the outdated rent limits, but have not acted,

meaning that the law is not used.

Buck’s new bill would require private rental homes to be provided and maintained to a state fit for human habitation. It would allow tenants to bypass councils if they need their properties repaired.

The bill would also

protect landlords if tenants or natural

forces cause any damage.

The bill would

amend the Landlord

and Tenant Act 1985 and

would only apply in

England. Read more about the bill here:

http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7328