Lord Frost criticises Renters (Reform) Bill in the Lords

Leading Conservative politician Lord Frost has voiced his concerns over the Renters (Reform) Bill by saying it is a ‘poor Bill’ and blasted the Tories.

Lord Frost was the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator and in the House of Lords second reading debate, he said: “It is a poor Bill and I do not think it is getting any better as it proceeds through the Commons and through this House.

“It is inevitably going to make the private rented sector smaller and more expensive.

“It is pursued from the best of motives, but its consequences will be that housing supply shrinks and the cost of housing goes up.”

Bill will generate more social problems

Lord Frost also told the House that the Bill will generate more social problems than it solves.

He added: “I am sorry that the Government are pursuing it, but I hope that it will still be possible in Committee to improve on some of the fundamental points that I have mentioned, and in particular to retain fixed-term tenancies as an option.”

He also criticised the attack on private landlords in his speech through the tax regime and the shrinking rental sector.

‘Attack on private landlords through the tax regime ‘

Lord Frost said: “There has been an attack on private landlords through the tax regime and the rental sector is shrinking.

“That, plus anticipation of the measures in this Bill, is taking private rental property off the market.

“It is therefore no surprise that, while sale prices for houses are flat, we are seeing rental prices in the private sector accelerate by 9%.”

Practical concerns over the Bill

He continued: “I have philosophical concerns — that I think it is fundamentally unconservative, speaking as a Conservative politician — and I have practical concerns.

“Namely, that it ties up and restricts the market still further and the practical effect will be to make things worse, not better.

“I regret that I must speak in these terms of a Bill that my own Government are bringing forward, but I think it is extremely problematic.”

He says that a better housing market is needed for secure housing and ‘reliable tenancies’.

Lord Frost also expressed concerns over the restrictions that the Bill brings in on the use of property.

Abolishing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions

Lord Frost said he accepts the Conservatives are committed to abolishing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.

He went on: “We did not commit to end fixed-term tenancies, and they are not the same thing.

“Section 21 is a way, among other things, of ensuring that landlords can reliably get possession, after the first 12 months in an AST, at two months’ notice.

“If we abolish Section 21, another way of providing some certainty for landlords that they could get their property back would be to leave open the option of agreeing another fixed-term tenancy, for another year or whatever.

“The Bill removes that option. It scraps fixed-term tenancies entirely and makes every tenancy rolling, bringing in the possibility that landlords will have to go to court much more often to recover their property.”

The Bill now moves to the Committee stage, before the report stage and then to its final third reading before heading back to the Commons.

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