Law ‘to be changed’ to protect tenants from landlords’ debt problems

Citizens Advice, along with four other charities, has hailed a government announcement that the law is to be altered to offer more protection to tenants from the threat of repossession.

It comes after the organisation, with backing from Shelter, Crisis and the Chartered Institute of Housing, called for changes to be made after rising levels of tenants being made homeless were recorded.

More than 100 MPs signed an early day motion in parliament, getting the process underway for legislation to be brought in.

David Harker, chief executive of Citizens Advice, noted that it is “unfair” for tenants to lose their homes because their landlords have encountered debt management problems.

“In the last year Citizens Advice bureaux have seen around 1,000 cases where private tenants were facing sudden homelessness because their landlord was being repossessed,” he revealed.

Meanwhile, the recently-published Rugg Review has outlined problems in the rental sector, such as landlords exploiting vulnerable groups and cases of anti-social behaviour in local communities.

By Jamie Price