Renters ‘banished’ from council rent control debate

Renters and landlords were told they should not speak in a Bristol City Council debate on rent controls.

Council lawyers said they would have a financial interest in a key vote on whether Bristol should introduce controls on how much landlords can charge for rents.

Around 16 councillors were “banished” from the chamber in City Hall on January 10. The move was criticised as “concerning and bizarre”.

Despite the exodus, a majority of councillors backed calls for new rent controls in Bristol, although the council does not currently have the legal power to introduce them. Several other new measures were also agreed, which the council does have the power to bring in.

An annual “living rent index” will be published, showing what affordable rents would look like in Bristol. A publicly accessible list will also show all enforcement notices issued to landlords in the city — but only if a long-delayed new law does not do that first on a national level.

At the start of the council meeting, councillors were asked to raise their hands if they were a renter or landlord, before being told by the lord mayor Paula O’Rourke they should leave the chamber during the debate on rent controls. She later said they had been “banished”.

She said: “I understand that there are a number of declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of the golden motion, because members are either a landlord or a tenant in the private rental sector.

“Please note those council members will be leaving the council chamber for the duration of that item.”

Her announcement was met with protests from Labour councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for climate change, who insisted he would stay and vote despite having an interest.

He said: “I’m not leaving. I’ve got an interest and I intend to vote. Why do I have to leave? I’ve been elected to vote by the people of my ward, so I’m intending to vote. I’m planning to stay and vote.”

However, councillor Dudd did later leave the chamber and did not vote in the debate. Others said the move to exclude renters and landlords from the debate was “frustrating” and called for a change in the rules.

Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Kent said: “Like a lot of councillors I’m concerned that so many of our colleagues have been excluded from today.

“Clearly when you bring forth major items of importance, you shouldn’t be excluding people’s representatives, especially those with actual life experience of what they’re talking about. It seems bizarre to me.”

The rent controls motion was put forward by cabinet member for housing Tom Renhard, who said there was a “power imbalance” between renters and landlords.

City Hall chiefs are lobbying the government to give councils the power to introduce rent controls, as part of the new Renters Reform white paper which could see major changes to the law.

The joint motion was backed by the Greens, with councillor Tom Hathway adding “practical actions” such as a living rent index and a rogue landlord database. A local database would be set up if a national one is not included in the new Renters Reform bill.

However, councillor Hathway was barred from taking part in the debate as he rents his home.

Speaking on his behalf, councillor Carla Denyer said: “Councillor Hathway was going to second this motion but unfortunately isn’t allowed to, because the council’s pecuniary interest rules have been interpreted to mean that renters can’t have a say on the rental market in the city. So I’m speaking on this on behalf of a resident in my ward — called Tom Hathway.

Of the councillors remaining in the chamber, 35 voted in favour of the motion, two abstained, and nine voted against. Conservatives claimed rent controls had not worked well in places like Berlin, Stockholm and Scotland.

Conservative group leader, Mark Weston, said: “Having a publicly accessible list of enforcement notices, where you can actually track what the landlords are doing, is an excellent idea. But rent controls don’t work. Rent controls are not the solution, they never have been.

Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol

Main photo: Rachel Sutherland

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