MP backs move to make all rented homes fit to live in

WARRINGTON South MP Faisal Rashid is backing a Bill being introduced by fellow MP Karen Buck today which will give renters a new legal right to ensure their home is “fit for human habitation”.
The new legislation, long campaigned for by Labour, could help renters in 162,000 dangerously unfit properties in the North West -the largest number in any region in England.
Nationally, there are more than one million rented properties containing the most serious “category 1” hazards, including homes that have unsafe electrics, vermin infestations, or aren’t fire safe.
The Bill will give tenants new legal powers to enforce their right to a decent home by taking their landlord to court if the property they live in is not fit.
This is a particularly important for council tenants such as those who lived in Grenfell Tower, because it is councils who are notionally responsible for enforcing standards, but local authorities can’t enforce against themselves.
Mr Rashid said: “I am very pleased to be supporting the Bill this week, it is crucial that we secure basic rights for renters. It is appalling to think that many are forced to live in such terrible conditions with no rights. Homes must be fit for human habitation in Warrington South and across the country.”