Issue - meetings

The purpose of the report by the Head of Property and Housing is to consider a motion referred from Council concerning retaliatory evictions in the private rented housing sector.  On 17^th March 2015 Council referred to Housing Cabinet a motion proposed by former Councillor Michael Andrewes and seconded by former Councillor Leo Madden concerning retaliatory evictions in the private rented housing sector.

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet Member for Housing:

(1)   Agrees to use Flagship to highlight and publicise legislative changes designed to prevent retaliatory evictions.

(2)  Asks officers to work with tenants and landlords to practically implement the changes and improvements to tenants' rights on retaliatory evictions when they become law on 1^st October 2015.

The Cabinet Member for Housing:

(1)   Agreed to use Flagship to highlight and publicise legislative changes designed to prevent retaliatory evictions.

(2)  Asked officers to work with tenants and landlords to practically implement the changes and improvements to tenants' rights on retaliatory evictions when they become law on 1^st October 2015.

(3)  Asked that the use of this legislation be reviewed by the Cabinet Member for Housing or by a scrutiny panel, as soon as practicable after 1 October 2016.

Bruce Lomax the Private Sector Housing Manager presented the report on behalf of the Head of Property and Housing which had been in response to a Council Notice of Motion.  The Deregulation Act 2015 would come into force from 1st October and it was designed to give protection to private sector housing tenants from the less scrupulous landlords.  It set out clear steps for works to be undertaken and provided more security for tenants for them to be provided with more safety information by their landlords.   There would be implications to the City Council regarding increasing enforcement to protect tenants' rights and to stop landlords' use of Section 21 Eviction Notices.

Councillor Winnington spoke in support of this recommendation which had been brought forward through the Notice of Motion by his group and welcomed the recommendations in full.  He asked regarding work taking place with tenants and landlords through associations to raise awareness.  In response Bruce Lomax reported that he is working with the Portsmouth & District Landlords' Association (PDLA) who he had met with the previous night regarding how they approach their tenants and a newsletter was being sent out to 1,500 landlords in the city.  This would explain the implications from 1^st October and he was also working with letting agents.  There is not a tenants' association for private sector housing in Portsmouth currently, but work was also being undertaken with the University as well as the PDLA.  An article would be placed in Flagship as suggested and would be published before the 1^st October implementation.  Councillor Wemyss wished to add a third recommendation to ensure that a review took place as to how the measures had been enforced a year after the implementation date.

The Cabinet Member for Housing:

(1)   Agreed to use Flagship to highlight and publicise legislative changes designed to prevent retaliatory evictions.

(2)  Asked officers to work with tenants and landlords to practically implement the changes and improvements to tenants' rights on retaliatory evictions when they become law on 1^st October 2015.

(3)  Asked that the use of this legislation be reviewed by the Cabinet Member for Housing or by a scrutiny panel, as soon as practicable after 1 October 2016.