Letting agent chases grieving family for rent 'owed' after son's suicide
An MP has shared the tragic story of a family who were pursued for rent after their son committed suicide before moving into the property, as she argued for more protections for renters and guarantors.
Labour MP Helen Hayes was speaking during the debate on the long-delayed Renters (Reform) Bill on Thursday. During the debate, she recounted the story of some of her constituents who said their son had signed a tenancy agreement with them as guarantors, but "before their son had finished his first year at university and the tenancy had even started, he tragically died by suicide".
She went on to say "faced with one of the most terrible tragedies that any of us can imagine" the lettings agency then pursued them for money for a tenancy their son never even started. Hayes told the Commons she had contacted the letting agency several times but they maintained: "A contract was a contract and that my constituents were liable as the guarantors."
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The bill has been criticised by the opposition for being watered down heavily since it was announced in 2019. Hayes's criticism is only one of several issues Labour has raised with it, including the central charge that the government has delayed its plan to abolish "no-fault" section 21 evictions.
Hayes recounted the tragic story of her constituents to promote her amendment to the bill, clause 40, that would remove obligations from guarantors in the case of family bereavement.
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In response Jacob Young, an undersecretary at the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities said he had listened to Hayes and the government was proposing lowering the minimum obligation in the case of bereavement from six months to two months. Hayes said the government's response was baffling because "it is still quite literally a financial penalty for the death of a loved one."
Hayes also said she had been contacted by several families in a similar situation as well as by several landlords and letting agencies who do not put such clauses in their agreement saying this proved they were "simply not necessary".
Fury over the delay in banning Section 21
The bill was passed on Thursday and is now set to be debated in the Lords. The bill’s original intention was to end fixed-term tenancies, introduce a decent home standard, establish a new ombudsman and aim to provide protections for families in receipt of benefits from discrimination.
It also included the long-promised plan to end tenants being forced from their homes under Section 21 notices. But, the government wants to delay the implementation of the ban until the courts are assessed to have the capacity to deal with new cases.
Recent research by YouGov commissioned by Shelter showed 943,000 tenants had been served Section 21 notices, equivalent to more than 500 renters per day since then-prime minister Theresa May announced the ban in 2019.
Ahead of the debate, housing secretary Michael Gove could only say he "hoped" the bill would become law before the general election, despite it being first promised years ago.
Hayes was among the MPs criticising the delay in banning no-fault evictions telling the Commons: "Time and again, I have seen in my constituency how Section 21 is used egregiously to ratchet up rents and to stop tenants complaining about basic repairs or safety issues." She added: "Because a Section 21 eviction does not need to be justified with a reason, all the power is in the hands of the landlord."
The delay in the banning of Section 21 has been criticised by Tory backbenchers as well, with MP Natalie Elphicke saying "this is a bill that the Conservative manifesto in 2019 promised would benefit tenants. Instead, this has become a bill where the balance too often is in favour of the landlords".
