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Bill giving tenants power to take action against landlords becomes law
A new law giving private and social tenants the right to force their landlords to keep their homes fit for habitation has passed onto the statute books.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act was given Royal Assent today – completing its lengthy journey from a private members bill into law.
The act will give tenants the right to take landlords to court if the property falls below legal standards, and seek an injunction to carry out the work and damages.
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The bill was proposed by Labour MP Karen Buck and received official government backing in January – an extremely unusual step for an opposition MP’s bill.
She said: “After three and a half years and three attempts, it is wonderful to finally have got the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act on the statute book.
“There are a million properties- home to some 3 million people- that are unsafe or unfit to occupy and this act will provide those tenants, private and public, with a way to act against bad landlords.
“It’s been great to have such support from the government this time around and from a wide range of housing organisations, but the credit goes above all to [housing lawyers] Giles Peaker and Justin Bates who drafted the bill and have worked so hard and supported me every step of the way.”
Ms Buck had proposed similar legislation in 2015, but it was “talked out” without ever being put to a vote.
In 2016, Ms Buck again attempted to get the measures into law as part of the Housing and Planning Act, but it was voted out by Conservative MPs. At the time, the government said it “will result in unnecessary regulation and cost to landlords, which will deter further investment and push up rents for tenants”.
Social tenants currently have no means to compel their landlords to carry out work while private tenants are required to rely on often overstretched council environmental health teams.
The new law does not introduce new property standards, but provides tenants with the power to enforce those that already exist.
It will however include issues not covered by landlords’ current legal repair responsibilities, including damp caused by poor design and infestations.
In a briefing note on the proposed law, charity Shelter said, as well helping tenants take action directly, it would “help to raise conditions generally, through the broader positive impact on landlord education and awareness of their responsibilities and the risk of being sued”.
The bill will come into force for new tenancies (and those which become periodic after the end of a fixed term) in three months. It will come into effect for existing tenancies a year after that.
