Rayner to reveal plans to protect renters and boost housing standards

Angela Rayner will announce measures to protect renters and improve housing standards in her speech to the Labour Party conference on Sunday.

The Deputy Prime Minister will commit to “building homes fit for the future” in the speech, which will open Labour’s first conference since winning the general election.

The package is expected to include a new law aimed at ensuring that landlords respond to reports of hazards such as damp and mould swiftly.

The proposed legislation – Awaab’s Law – is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of exposure to mould in the social home his family rented in Rochdale.

Before her speech, Ms Rayner – who is also the Housing Secretary – said: “Just because Britain isn’t working at the moment, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. We will deliver for working people and, in doing so, show that politics can change lives.

“We’ve inherited a Tory housing crisis. This Labour Government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but also to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm.”

Labour estimates that it would support tenants in 746,000 homes with reported serious hazards to secure faster repairs, reducing health and safety risks.

Ms Rayner will speak about plans to accelerate efforts to fix unsafe cladding on high rise buildings across the UK, shortly after the conclusion of the Grenfell Tower inquiry.

She is also expected to lay out Labour’s intention to consult on a new decent homes standard for all social and private rented homes.

The Deputy Prime Minister added: “For Labour, this is not just about building houses at any cost but making houses people can call home. This means ending the scandalous situation where standards for existing and future tenants don’t currently even meet the minimum of safety and decency everyone should expect.

“Today, Labour is committing to raising the bar on the poor standards we’ve inherited from the Tories to ensure homes are fit for the future.”