Member

This House gave the Bill its Third Reading in January. Ten months later, my constituents in Hastings and Rye are still waiting for its vital rights and protections to become law. They are not the only ones waiting: 11 million renters up and down the country need this legislation. It will make a huge difference to their lives, and we are very proud to support it, but in the 10 months that we have been waiting since Third Reading, too many people in my constituency have been stuck in damp and mouldy privately rented housing, without the rights they need. They have been unable to speak up about poor-quality accommodation because of that lack of rights, and because they are worried about being evicted under section 21. It is absolutely right that the Bill extends Awaab’s law and its vital rights to private tenants, so that they can speak up when they are living in damp and mouldy accommodation.