Labour targets bad landlords with new renters' rights charter

Rented properties to require annual 'MOT' to prove they are fit to live in, if Corbyn wins election

(PA)

Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to put bad landlords out of business with a new charter of renters’ rights and a national “property MOT”.

Labour’s scheme would introduce a legal requirement for landlords to submit properties to an independent annual inspection, with tough fines and forced repayment of rent to tenants if they break the rules.

The party released research which found that one in four private rented homes are classed as ‘non-decent’, meaning they are damp, cold, in disrepair or unsafe to live in.

Collectively, the tenants of these properties are thought to pay more than £10bn a year in rent to landlords.

Launching the new renters’ charter alongside shadow housing secretary John Healey, Mr Corbyn said: “Labour will be on the side of tenants and take on dodgy landlords who have been given free rein for too long.

“Real change means taking on those who exploit the housing crisis to charge eye-watering rents for substandard accommodation.

“Labour will put power in the hands of tenants with our new charter of renters’ rights, a cap on private rents and funding for renters unions to support tenants to organise and defend their right to safe and secure housing.”

The renters’ charter will enshrine three key rights:

- The right to an affordable rented home, with rent rises capped at inflation;

- The right to a secure rented home, with new open-ended tenancies as protection from unfair eviction;

- The right to a decent rented home, with new minimum standards.

Mr Healey said: “The power imbalance in the private rental market is at the heart of our housing crisis, with rents eating up too much of people’s pay, tenants afraid of eviction if they report problems, and families with children forced to uproot their lives at short notice.

“Many landlords provide decent homes that tenants are happy with, but the Conservatives have gifted rogue landlords the freedom to flourish. Labour will put bad landlords out of business.

“Labour will legislate in year one for a new charter of renters’ rights, with open-ended tenancies, new minimum standards and rent controls to make renting more affordable. We will make private renting a better option for all.”