Clause 44 - Licensing of HMOs to which this Part applies
Housing Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Matthew Green (Ludlow, Liberal Democrat)
The Minister's comments on amendment No. 226 were very useful. He made it clear that local authorities would generally be expected to do something in six weeks or less, which is a reasonable time. The fact that he has placed it on the record has made tabling the amendment worth while. We understand that there may be circumstances in which a six-week turnaround is not possible. However, with the Minister mentioning that a judicial review may be possible if a council does not take action quickly, his statement of what is considered reasonable is potentially very helpful, because such a review would consider what has been said in Committee. It is therefore a very welcome step forward.
The Minister is on slightly dodgier ground with amendments Nos. 234 and 251, because he is saying to tenants in HMOs that qualify for inspection, ''Don't worry, we are introducing a licensing scheme, but because we do not want to overwork local authorities it might be five years before someone comes around and checks whether the property you are in is safe. We will find out whether there is a fit and proper person to run it when we license them, but we could take five years to find out whether they have fit and proper properties.'' I realise that tenants, and perhaps local councillors and Members of Parliament, will put pressure on councils to take action a little more promptly than within five years. However, not every council is as responsive as people would like. One or two councils might regard the five years allowed as a convenient excuse to do very little initial inspecting, and to think about it in a few years' time.
There is always pressure on council tax, as we all know. I realise that an officer must be in place to carry out the health and safety rating, but the temptation to leave it until next year to employ the officer who will do the extra HMO inspections, because the council cannot afford the extra employee and council tax must be kept down otherwise the Deputy Prime Minister will cap it, might provide councils with a loophole in the work that they are supposed to do. Although I shall withdraw amendments Nos. 226 and No. 234, we may return to the issue.