Clause 56 - Licence conditions
Housing Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Matthew Green (Shadow Minister, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Local Government & the Regions; Ludlow, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 260, in
clause 56, page 36, line 38, leave out paragraph (b) and insert—
'(b) conditions requiring reasonable steps to be taken to address any nuisance or annoyance caused to others by persons occupying or visiting the house;'.
I am very grateful to Shelter for suggesting the amendment, which would amend subsection (2)(b). The amendment would require a landlord to include a
written statement of terms within a tenancy agreement under paragraph 1(5) to schedule 4 relating to the conduct of the occupier and any visitors to the property. The inclusion of such terms in tenancy agreements would align private landlord practice for HMOs with standard practice of most social landlords.
The amendment would also include a provision for a private landlord to detail in writing what action they will take to address any nuisance, annoyance or harassment caused to others or the unlawful use of the house by persons occupying or visiting the house. Again, that would go some way towards aligning the practice of private landlords with that of social landlords who, under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, must produce policies and procedures to deal with antisocial behaviour.
The amendment relates to the reference to private landlords controlling the behaviour of their tenants in clause 56(2)(b). That term is too broad to be effective and goes beyond the level of responsibility that local authorities have to tackle the behaviour of their social housing tenants. The role of a responsible landlord is to manage the property and the tenancy. However, we believe that a landlord's interest in the behaviour of tenants or their visitors could easily constitute harassment unless it relates directly to the enforcement of a contractual obligation.
That is the reason for proposing the amendment: to bring the provision broadly in line with other provisions in the social housing sector. It would ensure that the word ''controlling'', which seems far too strong and puts too onerous a duty on landlords, is removed and replaced with something more acceptable.