Last Friday (November 7) campaigners asked the three Brighton & Hove MPs to vote in favour of the Tenancies (Reform) Bill which will be voted on in the House of Commons on Friday, November 28.
HOME SWEET HOME campaigners met with Mike Weatherley MP, Caroline Lucas MP, and Simon Kirby MP and presented them with petitions signed by residents from across the city calling for them to vote in favour of the bill.
The petitions, in the shape of a door, were signed by hundreds of people from across Brighton and Hove.
The Bill will protect renters from retaliatory eviction when they ask landlords to carry out repairs or improvements to properties.
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion agreed to vote in favour of the Bill and meet Home Sweet Home in Parliament on November 28, as well as work with them to make sure if passed it is properly enforced by the local authority.
Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven agreed to meet with the campaigners ahead of November 28 to discuss the Bill.
Mike Weatherley MP for Hove & Portslade agreed to work with campaigners ahead of November 28 to make his decision about the Bill, but has not yet committed to vote in favour.
Since Home Sweet Home began 18 months ago. Fear of eviction has repeatedly emerged as an issue for renters in Brighton and Hove. As part of their research, campaigners took to the streets of the city and asked members of the public about their experiences of eviction and to support the bill.
Home Sweet Home leader Rob Robinson, said: “I’ve experienced revenge eviction myself several times here in Brighton. Once was after complaining about a broken boiler which went unrepaired for several weeks over Christmas. I’d heard nothing from the agent for four weeks and thought I’d try one more time before giving up and so I called again, and I was told that the landlord’s response was in the post and would arrive in the next few days. The landlord’s response arrived the next day; I was being issued with a section 21, and was evicted from my home.”
Candice Armah, President of Brighton Students Union and Home Sweet Home leader, added: “When we did our research and went out listening to people I was surprised and deeply worried by the amount of students we talked to who had been on the receiving end of an unwarranted notice to vacate. Similarly, we talked to a significant amount of students who had been reticent to contact landlords/letting agents about issues with their houses as they feared this would happen to them.”
Home Sweet Home leader Chris Henry, said: “We have our own experiences of renting, but having spoken to private renters across the entire city we now that revenge evictions are a real issue her in Brighton & Hove. We have heard dozens of shocking stories of revenge eviction and have been overwhelmed with support and signatures on our petitions so we really hope that our city’sMPs listen and take action on our behalf.
“It’s great that we’ve got commitments from all three MPs to work with us ahead of the vote, I hope that we eventually see all three vote in favour of the Bill and make a real difference for tenants in the city”
The Tenancies (Reform) Bill will be voted on in the House of Commons on Friday November 28 and is a Private Members’ Bill proposed by the Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather.
The Bill clarifies how Section 21 can be used by landlords and removes the fear of eviction that stops tenants from asking their landlord for repairs and maintenance in their home.
Under the Bill, Landlords will be prevented from evicting their tenant(s) in response to a local authority intervention about the condition of their property. They will be unable to serve a no-fault ‘section 21’ eviction notice for 6 months following the issue of a local authority improvement notice, hazard awareness notice, or notice of remedial action.
Landlords will be prevented from evicting their tenant(s) in response to a legitimate, complaint about the condition of the property. Local authorities will have to confirm that this complaint is legitimate by serving an improvement notice, hazard awareness notice, or notice of remedial action. Landlords will be unable to serve a no-fault ‘section 21’ eviction notice for 6 months following the issue of this notice.
The campaign also has the support of the three Labour Parliamentary Candidates in the city.
Purna Sen, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said: “For many residents their rental experience is not a bad one, but on Saturday morning in London Road, listening with members of Home Sweet Home, I heard far too many stories from local people about their awful experiences when they dared to complain about a problem.’
Nancy Platts, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, added: “No one should have to fear eviction for speaking up and asking their landlords to do the right thing. This Bill goes a long way to giving renters the protection they need to make sure they aren’t evicted unfairly. With so many people renting in Kemptown and Peacehaven, it’s important that their voices are heard and I’m happy to support people asking their local MPs to stand up for their wishes in Parliament”
Peter Kyle, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Hove and Portslade, said: “I’m campaigning to make Hove and Portslade a fairer place to live, work and raise a family and a major part of that commitment is to make housing one of my key priorities in Hove and Portslade. I support the Home Sweet Home team’s work because it is so confidently speaking for our communities here; I sincerely hope the city’s Tory and Green MPs also support this campaign to stamp out evictions when tenants ask for repairs and improvements to their homes.”
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