‘This is how I see the Renters Reform Bill working for a local mother from Walworth’ says Miatta Fahnbulleh

By Miatta Fahnbulleh

3rd February 2025

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Miatta Fahnbulleh

For fourteen years, Conservative governments neglected renters.

We saw too many cases where families endured damp, unsafe homes without recourse for repairs. Or where tenants were evicted at a moment’s notice, not for any fault of their own, but so landlords could charge more to the next tenant.

This broken system left too many renters without security in their own homes.

In Southwark, where nearly 60% of households rent, these issues are very real for many in our community.

Since becoming the Member of Parliament for Peckham in July, I’ve dealt with casework from people trapped in this system. The stories were always the same: renters feeling powerless against landlords and a system designed to fail them.

This month, the Renters’ Rights Bill passed a key vote in Parliament—a significant step toward rebalancing power between tenants and landlords. It is a landmark piece of legislation that ensures renters have greater security, fairness, and dignity in their homes while holding landlords accountable to clear, enforceable standards.

Take a mother renting a private rented flat in North Walworth. Before this bill, she might have faced eviction without reason, simply because her landlord wanted to re-let the flat at a higher price.

Her family could have been forced to live with dangerous damp or faulty heating because her landlord ignored repair requests, with no mechanism to hold them to account.

If she needed to claim housing benefits to keep a roof over her children’s heads, she could have faced discrimination from landlords unwilling to rent to her. She also had no right to keep a family pet, even if it was something that helped make the house feel like a home. These injustices left her powerless in a system that favoured landlords over tenants.

Now, under the Renters’ Rights Bill, she has real power. Her landlord can no longer evict her without a valid reason, so she has the stability to plan for her family’s future.

If her landlord fails to fix the damp or repair the faulty heating, she can hold them to account through the Decent Homes Standard, which enforces safe and habitable living conditions.

If her rent is unfairly increased, she has the right to challenge it and secure a fair deal. She can keep a family pet, knowing she is protected under reasonable terms. And if she relies on housing benefits, she cannot be discriminated against, with the bill removing the stigma that was hard-baked into the system. The balance of power has shifted – she finally has the fairness, dignity, and security she and her children deserve.

I believe that housing is the foundation for thriving communities. When people feel secure in their homes, they can put down roots and truly become part of their communities. That sense of permanence allows children to excel in school, families to enjoy better health, and neighbourhoods to grow stronger, with deeper bonds among neighbours.

This bill is only the start. Labour’s mission is bold and transformative. We aim to build 1.5 million homes over the next parliament, including the most significant increase in social housing in a generation.

We will prioritise social rented homes, ensure developments include more affordable housing, and deliver more homes on brownfield land to meet future needs.

This is a government with the energy and determination to deliver for working people – putting safe, affordable housing at the heart of its plan for a fairer society.

As your MP, I’m committed to ensuring these changes benefit Peckham. By fixing a broken system and building the homes we desperately need, we’re creating a fairer and more secure future for everyone.

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‘This is how I see the Renters Reform Bill working for a local mother from Walworth’ says Miatta Fahnbulleh

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