Burnley MP backs bill to ensure homes are safe

The new legislation, long campaigned for by Labour, could help renters in a significant numbers of dangerously unfit properties across the Burnley constituency.

Nationally there are over one million rented properties containing the most serious "category 1" hazards including homes that have unsafe electrics, vermin infestations, or aren’t fire safe.

The Labour bill gives tenants new legal powers to enforce their right to a decent home in by taking their landlord to court if the property they live in is not fit.

Mrs Cooper said: “I am delighted to support this bill and I know that tenants, responsible landlords and the wider population in Burnley and Padiham will welcome these powers to challenge rogue landlords who try to let properties that are not fit for human habitation.

"This change in the law has been backed by Labour previously and was in Labour’s June manifesto. However to their shame, it was twice blocked by the Tories and it is only in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster that they have agreed to back the bill.”