Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Monday, 18 May 2009.

Housing: Repossession

Question: My Lords, I appreciate that the noble Baroness cannot commit to the date of legislation, but she will appreciate that those who are concerned about the problem are also concerned about having to wait until the Queen’s Speech in the autumn and then for new legislation. Will the Government see whether there is current legislation on to which they can add some of these provisions? In the mean time, will they talk to the relevant parties about the pre-action protocol and steps that the courts may or may not take?

Answer: My Lords, I cannot pre-empt any legislative vehicle, for the reasons that the noble Baroness gave, but we will certainly find the first relevant legislation that we can. We have to consult properly because this is a complicated situation, as she will know, given her experience. Tenancy agreements are very complicated indeed. We have to work—and we are working—closely with lenders, who have been very supportive on this, as have the lobby groups. We need to improve the current practices when an unauthorised tenant is found in the property. We are working to mitigate the impact on tenants whose landlords are in arrears. For example, in April we extended the period of the possession order to seven weeks, which will help. We will try to get as much information as we can to tenants who may be vulnerable, but the difficulty is in finding them.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 710 c1194
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Landlords Evictions Protection Tenants Rented housing Tenants' rights Repossession orders
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk