Member

I am sympathetic to the intent of Amendment 29, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Wolf. I am concerned, however, that the amendment in its current format would not achieve its desired result. It would require the VOA to take up this function immediately, alongside its existing responsibilities, without fully assessing the viability of this proposal or how it would work in practice. That risks creating an inoperable system or one which does not achieve a fair result for landlords or tenants. I am sure noble Lords will agree that this is too important a matter on which to take such a risk, given the potentially damaging effects on access to justice for tenants and landlords. With this in mind, I ask that the noble Baroness, Lady Wolf, does not move her amendment. As I said, we are minded to create a mechanism, but not the VOA, which she spoke of.