The Housing Minister has warned that if politicians with landlord interests block his proposed rental reforms, the public will respond next year at the ballot box – telling opponents to “bring it on”.
Deputy Sam Mézec said Jersey’s private rental sector remains the “biggest unresolved issue” in the housing market ahead of debate next month on what has been billed as Jersey’s biggest rental law reform in a decade.
The draft Residential Tenancy Law, which the Minister said is “ready to go,” includes rent caps, protections against revenge evictions and the creation of a new Rent Tribunal.
Members had been due to vote on the principles of the new Residential Tenancy Law in July, but instead backed a procedural move to refer it back to Scrutiny for review – postponing any decision until 9 September.
At the time, Deputy Mézec described the move as a “deliberate act of sabotage” driven by “vested interests” and accused colleagues of showing “cowardice over clarity”.
The Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel yesterday published its report into the law changes, which includes nine amendments and 18 recommendations.
It’s the vested interests that are getting in the way
Deputy Sam Mézec, housing minister
Speaking to Express last week, the Housing Minister said progress in the housing sector is being made for first-time buyers and social housing, but private renting is “the part that’s going worst at the moment.”
Deputy Mézec said: “If you are living in a private rental home in which you don’t have proper security of tenure, and you are already paying an extortionate amount with no limits on how much higher that can go, that will make it harder for those people to save up to buy a place.
“[Progress] is not for my lack of trying, because I’ve got a really good new law on the books ready to go that will go a long way to fixing that. It’s the vested interests that are getting in the way.”
He added: “So I have one hell of a fight. It’s the part of my agenda that is most likely to fail in the short term.
“I don’t think it will in the long term, because I think the public will cast their verdicts next year [at the election] on next year assembly. Bring it on. That’s what I say to that.”