Member

There is much good in this Bill which I have supported, including the ending of Section 21. I am no stooge for landlords, as my other amendments have shown, but there needs to be a realistic balance. In the midst of a housing crisis, it makes no sense to have properties artificially held empty and unrentable for any longer than is necessary on the basis that a landlord has failed to sell a property, often through no fault of their own. I urge the Government to reflect and not to reject this amendment just because they can, or on the basis of a visceral hostility to landlords. This is a reasoned, rational and balanced compromise amendment that will achieve the objectives of the Bill. A 12-month penalty is not only overkill but, by shrinking the amount of rental property available, actually acts against renters rather than for them.