Conservative housing minister Rachel Maclean has reassured that private renters aren’t all “weed-smoking people in gangs… smashing up the neighbourhood” at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference.
As quoted by openDemocracy, Maclean said: “There are plenty of young people who are in the PRS who are not weed-smoking bad people in gangs and everything else, in crack dens… smashing up the neighbourhood.
“There are decent people hard working people in the PRS, and we need to do the right thing for them.”
She went on to say she has four children who are private tenants, and all vote Conservative.
Maclean added: “I just want to make it very clear that as a Conservative, I totally believe in the rights of people to own property, and to rent it out as long as they are playing fair and playing by the rules.
“That is vital. When people are renting property out they need to be able to get it back if they need to. They need to be able to evict bad tenants.”
Maclean went on to discuss the abolition of Section 21 evictions in the Renters’ Reform Bill.
She pledged to “guarantee” that landlords will be able to repossess properties swiftly through the courts once the reform goes through.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, responded to Maclean’s comments about guaranteeing that possession cases go through the courts more quickly.
He said: “Without the confidence of knowing that where they have good cause they can regain their property swiftly, the exodus of landlords from the market will continue. All this will do is make it even harder for renters to find a place to live.
“The Minister’s comments are welcome, but they need to be backed up by clear plans setting out actions that will be taken and a timeframe for implementation. That must include investment in new staff and greater use of technology to process cases more swiftly.”
