Clause 57 - Licences: general requirements and duration
Housing Bill
4:30 pm
Mr John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 274, in
clause 57, page 37, leave out line 36 and insert
'The licence period shall end five years after'.
As you can tell, Mr. Pike, I have moved into semi-relaxed mode as we approach the end of our important business. As the Bill stands, the maximum length a licence can stand for is five years. This probing amendment is designed to test what the Government see as the likely period of a licence. My anxiety is that different tests may need to apply in different circumstances. What I mean by that—I made the point earlier, but it is worthy of repetition—is that the marketplace is rapidly moving. The local authority may want to issue licences for property that changes
hands or changes its status. It is important to know precisely what the Government intend during the period in which the licence applies, because of the possibility of rapid change in type and status of various kinds of property. I hope that the Minister can clarify the matter. However, I do not want to delay the Committee unduly, so I shall bring my remarks to a close.