Angela Rayner to force through crackdown on landlords
Angela Rayner is forcing her crackdown on landlords through the House of Lords despite concerns that her controversial reforms will evade scrutiny.
Labour peers have been ordered to sit until late into the night on Wednesday to get to the end of the Renters' Rights Bill.
But the Tories have claimed that such a timeframe will not allow for sufficient scrutiny of elements such as forcing private landlords to make energy upgrades to their properties.
The Lords is currently part-way through debating the Bill, which allows peers to scrutinise the text of the legislation clause by clause.
The legislation will then go back to the House of Commons for MPs to consider any changes proposed by the Lords.
But the Opposition has accused Labour of not being able to 'handle the heat of proper scrutiny' and 'resorting to bully-boy tactics to ram their bills through Parliament'.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer vowed that Labour would go 'further and faster' to deliver change, following sweeping defeats in local elections last week.
The Renters' Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament last September, is set to implement several key protections for tenants, including a ban on no-fault evictions and fixed-term tenancy agreements.
Another element of the Bill, known as ' Awaab's law ', will require landlords to carry out essential repairs within fixed time periods, such as dealing with damp and mould. The Bill is expected to become law later this year.
Elements that will remain to be debated include the proposals by Ed Miliband for all private rental homes to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) of C or higher by 2030, with new tenancies compliant by 2028.
Concerns have been raised by industry figures that landlords will be forced to renovate millions of homes at the cost of tens of millions.
Baroness Eaton, a backbench Conservative peer, said: 'We have serious concerns about the impact the Renters' Rights Bill will have on the supply of residential homes in our rental market.
'It would be unacceptable to debate crucial issues such as EPC ratings in the private rented sector and local housing authorities' investigatory powers cursorily, late at night, simply to fulfil the Prime Minister's desire to go 'faster and further'. It is our duty to scrutinise this Bill thoroughly.'
It comes after it emerged that Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, and Ms Rayner, the Housing Secretary, have joined forces on new rules for housebuilders, which will require new builds to have heat pumps and solar panels.
The Telegraph understands the new rules will be announced by Ms Rayner this summer, and are likely to be in force by next year.
A memo from Labour whips left on a printer in the House of Lords and seen by The Telegraph said to Labour peers: 'Your presence is required.'
It added: 'Colleagues are needed to ensure committee stage finishes.'
A Labour source said that the whip had been put in place 'because of the procedural shenanigans and games from a handful of Conservative peers over the past few month'.
Labour has previously accused Tory peers of effectively filibustering in the upper chamber as a form of protest against the party's ban on hereditary peers.
The source added that the whip was 'merely indicating to our own colleagues how we plan to keep the legislative plan on track'.
Lord Jackson of Peterborough, a Conservative peer working on the Bill, said: 'The Prime Minister's vow to 'go faster and further' must not come at the cost of our constitutional duty to scrutinise legislation.
He added: 'When Labour were in opposition, their peers debated two Bills for 17 days each and forced 15 days of debate on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act under the last government. Five and a half days on a major Bill like this is nothing.'
Paul Holmes, a shadow housing minister, said: 'Labour clearly can't handle the heat of proper scrutiny and are resorting to bully-boy tactics to ram through their bills through Parliament.
'The Renters' Rights Bill is a half-baked plan that will reduce supply of rental homes, push up the cost of renting and make things worse for tenants.
'It's deeply flawed and, judging by Labour trying to rush it past Parliament, even they know it is ripe to unravel.'
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