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New Bill Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords Over Poor Housing
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
New Bill Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords Over Poor Housing
A new bill will give tenants the right to sue their landlords if their rental homes are in a substandard condition if it is passed in Parliament.
MP Karen Buck has pushed the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill into its second reading today.
She hopes to recover a law originally passed in 1885 and last amended in 1957.
It gives tenants the right to a home fit for human habitation if the rent was under £52 per year, or £80 in London.
Past governments have come under pressure to abolish the outdated rent limits, but have not acted, meaning that the law is not used.
Buck’s new bill would require private rental homes to be provided and maintained to a state fit for human habitation. It would allow tenants to bypass councils if they need their properties repaired.
The bill would also protect landlords if tenants or natural forces cause any damage.
The bill would amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and would only apply in England.
Read more about the bill here: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7328
