A York MP has revealed he was thrown out of his home with a young baby – and says more homes to rent need to be built in the city.
But Luke Charters has ruled out giving help to landlords, some of whom are selling up, pushing up rents.
Speaking on last night’s Sunday Late Show with David Dunning, Mr Charters welcomed new reforms for renters – and revealed his own experience of the insecurity of tenants.
“For too long, renters have been left in the dust,” the Labour MP for York Outer told the show.
“I remember when I had a little baby, I was given a Section 21 eviction notice. Do you know when that was? It was during the general election campaign. We were kicked out of our rental house.
“We were fortunate, to be honest, because we could stay with our family for a bit, and we were buying a house and it was OK.
“Can you imagine being a single mum and being kicked out of a house with a young kid? Can you imagine a landlord where they’re not properly retrofitting the properties and it’s freezing cold?
“Can you imagine that you know your child comes along and says, I just want to have a cat, I just want to have a pet? I just want to enjoy life. And the fact that so many renters in York that get caught in is a spiral of bidding wars – we’re ending it.”
Rent reforms
The Renters’ Rights Act comes into effect from 1 May, ending no fault evictions. It also limits landlords to one rent increase a year, replaces fixed-term with rolling tenancies, and allows tenants to ask for permission to keep a pet.
It aims to end ‘bidding wars’ too. Once a property is advertised to rent at a specific price, the landlord or letting agent involved cannot ask for, encourage or accept an offer that is higher than the advertised price.
In York, rents are being pushed up by a shortage of rental properties, with some small landlords who are leaving the sector saying it no longer pays.
Asked about that, Mr Charters said: “I’m not in favour of more tax relief for landlords, I’m sorry,” he said. “I think the way we tackle the supply side is to get more houses around York.
“On the planning reforms, I support some of the quite interesting developments around York, for example, at Elvington on the old runway, 3,000 homes there. Some of those could be built to rent as well. Maybe they could be built to rent for key workers.”
On city landords, he said: “There are some brilliant landlords in New York, absolutely fair enough.
“But I know what it’s like to live in unsecured rental accommodation with a young family. It is anxiety inducing, and my postbag is full of really difficult stories.
“So I think we’ve struck the balance, and this is the biggest revolution in renters’ rights in a generation.”
- You can hear the full interview with Luke Charters by clicking on David Dunning on our radio page
