Tory housing minister savages ‘rushed’ Renters’ Rights Bill
Baroness Scott is one of the few voices in Lords pointing out problems with Labour's reforms during penultimate debate in Parliament.
The Conservatives have heavily criticised Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill during its second reading in the Lords, including comments by Baroness Scott (main image) that the legislation is being ‘rushed through’.
The Bill, which is now expected to become law in March, goes much further than the Tory’s original Renters’ Reform Bill and, Baroness Scott pointed out, is part of Ministers’ “aggressive pursuit” of landlords.
“The Bill is counter-productive and, while the Government may have good intentions, they will drive landlords from the market, reducing choice and putting up rents for the tenants they seek to protect,” she said.
“If our Renters’ Reform Bill didn’t quite balance the seesaw, the Renters’ Rights Bill tips it over.
“The Government are rushing it through without any care for the repercussions that will reverberate throughout the sector.”
Baroness Scott made the point that many landlords with one or two properties are not equipped to deal with the large increase in regulation demanded of them by the Bill, citing this as a reason they would leave, a point repeated later by Lord Best.
Good landlord
“We must, absolutely, deal with bad landlords but in most circumstances there is no reason a good landlord would want to lose a tenant because they want to keep a steady income and a tenant who respects the property,” she added.
The Baroness, who is one of the Conservative’s housing spokespeople in the Lords, highlighted in particular unhappiness among many commentators over agents and landlords being required to wait three months if a tenant stops paying their rent before starting the eviction process, up from two months.
Courts system
She also criticised her Labour counterpart, Baroness Taylor, who had earlier claimed that the eviction courts system would be ready for the increased case work once Section 21 evictions are abolished and all repossession action will have to go through a magistrate court.
“Our courts will not be resourced as they need to be before Section 21 is abolished,” she added.
In summing up, Baroness Scott said her party would focus on convincing Labour to exempt landlords with one property from some of the measures within the Bill, but also heavily criticised Labour’s plan to abolish rent in advance and refusal to include flats rented by students from the new periodic tenancies that are due to replace ASTs.
“I hope [the Government will listen to the concerns raised by the sector and by many noble Lords across this house before it is too late,” she concluded.
Rent controls

Several speakers also suggested rent controls would help protect renters from the rising cost of renting, and Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “Disappointingly, some Peers have fallen into the trap of not understanding the costs and taxes impacting landlords and seeing rent control as an additional measure to tackle affordability issues in the private rented sector.
“Similar policies have failed in Scotland and must be, at all costs, avoided by the UK Government.
Read the current official guide to the Bill.
Too little, too late, 1000s of landlords have left the market. 99% of Westminster should resign.