Clause 67 - Designation of selective licensing areas
Housing Bill
11:00 am
Mr Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. Clearly that was not a solution in the case that he illustrated, but I seek equally strong measures to apply to all landlords and tenures, whether private, housing association or local authority. Clearly, it is not right that people who behave antisocially just go from one tenure to another. We need uniformity across the housing field, so that appropriate action can be taken wherever those people are.
The hon. Gentleman has raised the broader question of where such people would eventually end up, but now is not the time for that debate, and you would not permit it, Mr. Conway. However, I will say that the behaviour of some housing associations is a serious problem. There is great variation. I have no doubt that some housing associations are extremely good, but others are not. There is one in my constituency—I will not name it now, although I reserve the right to do so—that has behaved appallingly. I still have steam coming out of my ears about that: it behaved very badly, and that has caused an unbelievable amount of distress. I would like to hear the Under-Secretary's comments on the subject.