On the doorstep, despite record high ambulance waiting times and the Conservatives cost-of-living crisis, housing remains the single biggest issue for many.
Housing - particularly the private rented sector - is a constant challenge. As the epidemic of AirBnBs has swept across Cornwall, so they private rented sector has all but dried up. If it wasn’t such as serious issue, the availability of private rented homes in Cornwall would be a joke. And the process to moving from private rented to AirBnBs has been brutal.
The ability for landlords to evict tenants through the use of ‘no fault evictions’ has caused untold misery and massive anxiety for too many. As we promised before the election, as a part of the Renters’ Rights Bill being introduced by this new Labour government, we are scrapping Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ once and for all.
Over the last 14 years it has been used increasingly as a means to unfairly evict people from their homes, leaving them with nowhere else to go. The Renters’ Rights Bill, and an end to ‘no fault evictions’, is about providing long term security to those households that are reliant on the private sector renting to keep a roof over their and, in a lot of household’s cases, their children’s heads.
In my opinion it is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that this Labour government is introducing, as a part of our plan to begin to fix the mess left by the devastating effects of 14 years of Conservative government.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will transform the lives of the hundreds of thousands of families across the UK - and particularly in Cornwall, for those for whom renting in the private sector is so essential. The sense of security that a stable home provides is so important, not only so people can feel confident where they are living and building their lives - but also for the knock on effects on physical and mental health, employment prospects and the ability to build support networks within their local community.
The Renters’ Rights Bill also very importantly will allow tenants to feel like they have the security to challenge landlords on vital issues, such as the upkeep of their homes. The Bill also makes sure that landlords can only raise the rent that they are charging a maximum of once a year - protecting tenants from unfair treatment or excessive above-market rents, designed purely to force them out. It also gives tenants more rights to keep pets, with the proven mental and physical health benefits that come with pet ownership.
These are just a few of the reforms that highlight once again, along with increases in the minimum wage, preventing any new income taxes, VAT or national insurance, investing in schools, hospitals and transport, that this Labour government is on the side of working people.
We were elected on a promise to deliver a programme of change for working people. And that is exactly what we are doing.
Perran Moon
Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth