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Hope for Bristol renters living in ‘appalling and unsafe conditions’
Tenants forced to live in “appalling and dangerous” conditions for fear of eviction could soon seek legal recourse.
Bristol MPs have welcomed a Government U-turn on a bill that will hold private landlords to account and aims to put an end to renters suffering squalid, damp and substandard homes.
Kerry McCarthy and Darren Jones both backed the Fitness for Human Habitation Bill, which passed a second reading in Parliament on Friday, after previously being blocked twice.
is needed now More than ever
Kerry Mccarthy says tenants have been too afraid to confront landlords about poor living conditions
“It’s pretty outrageous that there is currently no requirement on landlords to ensure their properties are fit to live in, and equally outrageous that the Government has twice blocked attempts to bring a new law in to hold landlords to account,” McCarthy told Bristol24/7.
“I have met constituents living in the most appalling conditions – with damp, mould, leaks, dangerous electrics and/or lacking the most basic facilities – who are too frightened to ask their landlord to carry out essential maintenance and repairs in case they are evicted.”
The Bristol East MP argued that such a measure is long overdue.
Bristol City Council has uncovered appalling conditions in the public sector, but private renters have had no recourse.
The number of homes nationwide with a category one hazard – defined under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) as a “serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety” – are: 794,600 in the private sector and 244,122 social, according to the 2015/2016 English Housing survey.
While the council has taken action to clamp down on ‘rogue landlords’ in Bristol, private tenants, which make up a large portion of residents, currently have no rights when it comes to living conditions.
Darren Jones says many tenants have to put up with unacceptable housing
Jones, MP for Bristol North West said: “Many of my constituents in Bristol have to put up with unacceptable quality housing in the private rented sector – lots being old council houses which haven’t been invested in for years.
“That’s why I stayed in Westminster on Friday when I’d normally be in Bristol so that I can support this new law.”
The bill, forwarded by Labour MP Karen Buck, was also backed by housing charity Shelter.
Responding to the bill passing a second reading, the charity’s chief executive, Polly Neate, said: “It’s shocking that renters all over the country are forced to live in sub-standard and unsafe homes so this is an important first step towards giving them the rights they need.
“It’s great to see cross-party consensus on the urgent need to protect renters. But it’s important to remember there’s a lot more work to be done.
“First to make sure this bill passes and becomes law, and then to fight future battles to empower renters with the wide range of rights they desperately need.”
Read more: ‘Dangerous minority’ of landlords preying on Bristol’s most vulnerable people
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