MP Karen Buck wants to re-introduce her Homes Bill (Fit for Human Habitation) following the Grenfell Tower Disaster.
Karen Buck MP is planning to reintroduce her Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill in Parliament today.
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the move had been expected.
Karen Buck, who represents Westminster North, originally introduced a Private Member’s Bill in 2015/2016 seeking to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human habitation.
This bill was not successful.
Labour then sought to reintroduce her proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill 2015/2016. If the Bill had been successful this would have placed a duty on landlords to ensure their homes were safe for human habitation when let, and kept so during the course of the tenancy.
It was said that the Bill would have caused extra regulations to be to in place and extra costs on landlords, pushing up rents. It said that local councils already had powers to deal with poor and unsafe accommodation, which it expected them to use.
The RLA welcomes the reintroduction of the Bill as tenants have a right to live in homes that are fit for human habitation. If the Bill is successfully reintroduced it is hoped that pressures will be put on landlords who do not provide fit accommodation.