Member

I turn now to the third amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Best, Amendment 85. This would prevent a tenant challenging a rent increase during the first four years of a tenancy where that rent increase falls below the lesser of the increase in CPI and median national earnings. I appreciate that the motivation for tabling this amendment is rooted in concern about the capacity of the tribunal system to manage rent appeals—a concern that others in this Committee share and on which we have had much debate, both today and on previous Committee days. I reiterate my earlier comments about those concerns that tenants will challenge their rent just to get time when they do not have to pay. Tenants will continue to pay their rent; it is the increase that they are challenging, so it is only the increase that they will not be paying while they are challenging it under Section 13.