renting – The Church of England in Parliament

Votes: Renters Rights Bill

On 15th July 2025, the House of Lords debated the Renters Rights Bill. Votes were held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Manchester moves amendment on Decent Homes Standard

On 15th July 2025, the Bishop of Manchester moved his amendment 105 to the Renters Rights Bill, and spoke in support of two further amendments:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: 105: Clause 101, page 134, line 11, leave out from “(homelessness)” to end of line 13

Member’s explanatory statement: This amendment would make the Decent homes standard apply to all homeless temporary accommodation provided under the Housing Act 1996.

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. My wife and I own one apartment; it is in the West Midlands, and it is let out. Nothing in this amendment or any others in this group would provide me with any advantage that I can foresee.

Amendment 105 seeks to extend the decent homes standard to temporary accommodation. As I said in Committee—and hence I can be extremely brief today—those in temporary accommodation are among the most vulnerable in our society. They are already battling against major disadvantages, and being placed in properties that fail the standard simply adds to their burden.

Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendments on temporary accommodation and notice for property inspections

On 14th May 2025, the Bishop of Manchester tabled two amendments to the Renters Rights Bill in committee:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: 249: Clause 101, page 129, line 2, leave out from “(homelessness)” to end of line 4

Member’s explanatory statement:

This amendment would make the Decent homes standard apply to all homeless temporary accommodation provided under the Housing Act 1996.

I thought that my amendment was never going to come. Amendment 249 stands in my name, and I am glad to support Amendment 252, to which I have added my name, and Amendments 250 and 251 in this group. I declare my interest as co-owner, with my wife, of one rather modest apartment in the West Midlands, which we let out.

As someone who has chaired a wide range of housing associations, including a large local authority transfer and an arm’s-length management company, I have seen the huge positive impact that the decent homes standard has had since one was first applied to social housing. Not least, it has forced landlords to pay proper attention to their existing stock, rather than focusing all their energies and resources on new developments. Hence, I am delighted that this Bill will, for the first time, extend the standard to much of the private rented stock; it is a sector desperately plagued by underinvestment in repairs, maintenance and stock improvement. One in five privately rented homes does not currently meet the decent homes standard compared to 10% for social housing. More than one in 10 has a category 1 hazard, which is two and a half times the figure for social housing.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about loss of family homes through HMO conversions

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the high rate of conversion of family homes into houses of multiple occupation on 27th February 2025, during a discussion on affordable rented housing:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, one consequence of sustained high rents in the private sector is the conversion of family homes into HMOs. Are the Government monitoring this trend, and what action are they taking on the loss of family homes in this way?

Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Lincoln welcomes legislation and urges extension of decent homes standard

The Bishop of Lincoln spoke at the second reading of the Renters Rights Bill on 4th February 2025, welcoming the bill and urging the government to consider the extension of the decent homes standard to accommodation for in temporary and asylum accommodation:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I welcome this Bill and the commitment that the Government have made to tackling the pervasive insecurity and unaffordability of the private rented sector. I will be delighted to listen to the maiden speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Brown.

Last week, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Chelmsford, the lead Bishop on housing, chaired a round table with a number of noble Lords and members of the Renters’ Reform Coalition. Although she is unable to be here today, I know that she is looking forward to contributing to the Bill as it progresses.

The Bill is an opportunity to strike a fairer, long-term deal that will benefit both landlords and tenants. We must heed the voices not only of tenants themselves but of landlords’ groups, which have expressed legitimate concerns about any potential negative consequences, however unintended, of the changes introduced by the Bill.

Renters Reform Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford speaks in support of comprehensive housing strategy reform

The Bishop of Chelmsford gave a speech at the second reading of the Renters Reform Bill on 15th May 2024, calling for comprehensive reforms on housing as part of a long term strategy encompassing all tenures, and lamenting the removal of parts of the bill abolishing section 21 evictions:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, from whose wisdom and experience I have personally gained such a lot. I am grateful for his contribution today. I declare my interest as the Church of England’s lead bishop for housing. Also, as I am in clergy-tied housing myself, my retirement house is currently let to a long-term tenant.

My starting place is that good homes are the building blocks of strong communities. Bad homes threaten mental and physical well-being, hinder personal and economic development, and compromise safety. Everyone needs a good home so that we have a good society where people can flourish. As others have said, there is much to welcome in the Bill. Private renting is the most insecure and expensive tenure, and it requires significant reform. I am pleased that the decent homes standard will be applied to the private rented sector for the first time. I am also pleased that the Government have tabled amendments to prohibit landlords and letting agencies from discriminating against families with children and people in receipt of benefits. I will seek more details on how this will work in practice.

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendment on compensation for charities

On 24th April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill in Committee. The Bishop of Manchester moved his amendment 28 to the bill, and made a speech in support of the amendment, which “would provide that, where the freeholder in the case of a lease extension or freehold enfranchisement is a charity which had owned the freehold interest since before the passing of the Bill, marriage and hope value are payable.”

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, while I thoroughly enjoyed that previous group, I hope this one will not prove quite so wide-ranging. In tabling these amendments, my aim is to deal with an issue that in the charity world is specific to a small number of bodies but would severely impact the work that they do. First, I am a leaseholder myself, as it happens, as set out in the register of interests. I have been through the process of extending my lease; my flat is not in London, and it was quite a simple and cheap process. Secondly, although I am no longer on the board of governors of the Church Commissioners, it is the body that pays my stipend, owns my home and covers my working expenses, so I declare that interest too.

The commissioners are directly affected by the proposals in the Bill. They would indeed benefit from my amendments but, as has already been mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, in the previous group, that charity is large enough to withstand the adverse impact. Smaller charities would struggle much harder to maintain their work, and it is their case I seek to plead today.

Bishop of Southwark asks about rising costs of rent

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of figures released by the Office for National Statistics on 20 March showing an average increase in monthly rent paid by tenants in the UK of 9 per cent in the year ending in February, including an increase to 10.6 per cent in London to an average monthly rent of £2,035.

Bishop of St Albans asks about accountability for freeholders

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure freeholders are held to account for essential services provided to leaseholders.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will ensure that leaseholders receive minimum key financial and non-financial information on a regular basis including through a standardised service charge demand form and an annual report. This will help them scrutinise and more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable.

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