Member

However, I accept that, whereas most tenants in the private rented sector are making their own arrangements with their landlord and hence require statutory protection to redress the power imbalance in that relationship, in the case of temporary accommodation there is another player, in the name of the local authority. If local authorities were rigorous in requiring the properties they use for temporary accommodation to meet a high standard, protection would be there. Moreover, there would be some types of property which, while acceptable for very short-term usage—though definitely not for the extended periods many are currently experiencing—would be intrinsically unable to meet the decent homes standard, such as bed-and-breakfast hotels.