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Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants Etc.) Bill

That is an excellent suggestion, particularly on private Members' Bill Fridays, when we are never quite sure how far we are going to get and Members may find themselves debating Bills further down the Order Paper for which they are not fully prepared. The issue underlying the Bill is a big one for my constituents. Southend has a large number of properties in multiple occupation and, particularly in times of recession, people often find themselves forced to rent out property. They may end up in the invidious position of having made mortgage commitments, and then, having lost their job, finding that they cannot afford the payments. They do not want to make things worse by going back to their lender and explaining that they are having to rent out the property—perhaps because the family has moved in with friends—in the full knowledge that the lender will have to charge them more under a buy-to-let arrangement. The fear of repossession is so great that they knowingly enter into a rental agreement that is forbidden under their tenancy. That is not specifically covered by this Bill, but perhaps it is something that the Government should be discussing with mortgage lenders. If someone is having problems with their mortgage, it should be possible to smooth the transition period by allowing them to rent out the accommodation over the shorter term instead of just letting it remain vacant. I am particularly concerned about data protection issues that make it difficult to find the names of tenants at properties. Having rented out properties in the past, I know the problem of the big pile of mail. Anything that I saw addressed to "The Occupier" would have gone straight in the bin. It was usually from an estate agent wanting to sell the property. However, in a number of cases it is difficult for the mortgage lender to know who the tenants are, and that would be problematic in the cases in question.