Contributions
1,335 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Fourth sitting)Will the Minister give way?29 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Fourth sitting)The Minister is quite right; I am a believer in the free market and I am sure the market will respond. Does he have an indication from his discussions with the insurance industry…29 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Fourth sitting)I understand that the Government’s intention is that tenants should not go to the tribunal unless they are clear that the asked-for rent is too high, but what prevents them from…29 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Fourth sitting)I am grateful—I am not intervening for the sake of it; there is an important point here. The Minister says that it would be unfair on the tenant to have a significant increase in…29 Oct 2024HANSARDFakenham Swimming PoolFakenham needs a swimming pool. I rise to present this petition on the Fakenham swimming pool, with reference to a similar online petition that has gained more than 1,250…24 Oct 2024HANSARDPromoting Business and Growth11. What steps his Department is taking to help grow the Northern Ireland economy.23 Oct 2024HANSARDPromoting Business and GrowthIt is all very well talking about an industrial strategy, but economists agree that increasing national insurance contributions for employers reduces profits, reduces pay and…23 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (First sitting)Q I am butting in again—I apologise. You say that private landlords are exiting the market already; what evidence do you have to support that statement? Theresa Wallace: There is…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (First sitting)Q Can I bring you back to your opening statement? You said that there were likely unintended consequences from the Bill in its current form, and that one of those unintended…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q Building on that, we heard from a few of the witnesses this morning that one of the key concerns of the private rented sector is the delay associated with the recovery of…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q I am straying into my memory now, but I think the financial exemption was set at £9,000 for the costs of an upgrade, above which you are exempted as a landlord. Judicaelle…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q Okay, so three months of avoiding a 20% rent increase. Everyone will do it, will they not? Why would they not? Justin Bates KC: I do not know, is the answer. That is not a…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q What has happened with that? If the level is £10,000, does that feel about right to you? Should it be higher or lower, or should there be an improvement in another way?…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q You mentioned unintended consequences, a topic that I have come back to repeatedly today. We heard evidence earlier that rents in Scotland have outpaced those in the rest of the…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q But what it is actually doing? Justin Bates KC: It broadly keeps to that. The FTT is pretty good at keeping to its standards. You can safely assume that we are looking at three…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (First sitting)I declare an interest as a private landlord.22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q So if everyone does it, that is quite a lot of extra work. Even if 25% do it, it is 1 million papers-only cases a year. Justin Bates KC: Yes. Liz Davies KC: Of those where the…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q Okay, I accept that answer. Am I right in thinking that there are about 4.6 million private tenancies out there? Justin Bates KC: Broadly, yes.22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (First sitting)Q Welcome, and thank you very much for attending today. To kick proceedings off, I am interested in hearing your first impressions of the Bill in respect of whether you think…22 Oct 2024HANSARDRenters' Rights Bill (Second sitting)Q But even on that basis, you are loading on to the landlord a requirement to create the papers and a period in which the tenant has to respond —I am guessing 14 or 28 days, but…22 Oct 2024