Contribution
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, and the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, for their amendments, and the noble Lord, Lord Best, and the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, for their comments.
I turn first to Amendments 176 and 177 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Roborough. Amendment 176 seeks to reverse the Bill’s removal of Section 25(1) from the Housing Act 1988. The noble Lord stated that he is seeking to probe why we are making this change. The answer, I am sure he will be pleased to learn, is simple and straightforward. After this Bill is implemented, Section 25(1) of the 1988 Act will be a spent provision; that is to say, it will have no effect. That is because it deals with what happens when statutory periodic tenancies arise upon the end of a fixed term of an assured agricultural occupancy. Statutory periodic tenancies will no longer exist after the Bill is implemented, nor will fixed terms. Indeed, all assured tenancies, including assured agricultural occupancies, will be periodic tenancies. The provision in Clause 25 is purely a consequential amendment, tidying up this spent provision from the 1988 Act following our reforms.
Amendment 177 seeks to allow the eviction of tenants with assured agricultural occupancies under ground 2ZC. This would reduce the security that these tenants currently enjoy. The noble Lord, Lord Roborough, has highlighted that he is seeking to probe why the Bill is expanding the restrictions on when assured agricultural occupancies can be evicted. With respect, this represents a misunderstanding of what the provision is doing. Clause 25 contains technical and consequential amendments to the assured agricultural occupancy regime that aim to maintain the status quo in light of our reforms. It includes preventing landlords from evicting those tenants under the employment ground—now 5C—as well as ground 5A and the new superior landlord grounds. These grounds cover circumstances where tenants under assured agricultural occupancy tenancies cannot currently be evicted. They are being amended or introduced by the Bill, and, as such, may pose a risk to tenants’ security in the new system. Rather than expanding the restrictions on evictions for such tenants, this provision will broadly maintain the status quo. For those reasons, I ask the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, not to press his amendments.
Amendment 182, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, would prevent any secondary legislation laid under the power in paragraph 65 of Schedule 2 exempting the rural sector from the right to acquire—and, more widely, seeks to ensure that residents in properties in rural areas have the right to acquire. The provisions in paragraph 65 of Schedule 2 allow the Secretary of State to lay regulations specifying types of assured tenancies to which the right to acquire would not apply. This consequential amendment allows the government to consider whether any of the existing right-to-acquire exemptions that apply to assured shorthold tenancies should be transferred across to the new regime. The amendment from noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, would prevent this power being used to exempt the rural sector from the right to acquire. Rural properties are currently exempt in designated rural areas, which are generally settlements with fewer than 3,000 people—the noble Lord, Lord Best, mentioned the Devon Housing Commission, which he has ably chaired, and he has made me aware of the conclusions of that commission.
This is designed to protect affordable housing in areas, both rural and urban, where replacement is often not viable due to its high costs, planning restrictions or land constraints, for example, and it is necessary to ensure the supply of rural affordable housing. The Government have no plans to change this, although it may be helpful if I comment briefly on the right to acquire. To qualify for that, tenants must have spent at least three years as a public sector tenant and occupy an eligible property. That applies whether they are in a rural or an urban area. However, there are important exemptions, such as those for the rural sector and for properties built or acquired by housing associations using their own funds. These restrictions aim to strike a balance between promoting home ownership and protecting social housing in areas or situations where it is most needed. The noble Baroness, Lady Grender, and the noble Lord, Lord Best, reflected some of the reasons that might be the case.
The Government recently consulted on reforms to right to buy, seeking views on eligibility criteria, the minimum and maximum percentage discounts, further protections for new-build properties and replacement of the homes sold. That consultation closed on 15 January and we are considering the responses received. We will provide more information on the next steps in due course. Importantly, the right to acquire was not included in that consultation; the Government will consider whether any changes should be made to the right to acquire in the light of future changes to the right to buy.