Proposals for new legislation to give tenants more rights could actually end up pushing bad landlords underground because they don’t go far enough.

That’s the warning from Paul Sloan, operations director at Haart Lettings.

The second reading of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill is due to be discussed in Parliament later this morning.

The Private Members Bill has been put forward by Labour MP Karen Buck and now has government support, following an announcement at the weekend from Secretary of State for Housing Sajid Javid.

The Bill seeks to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human habitation.

Where a landlord fails to do so, the tenant has the right to take legal action in the courts for breach of contract, on the grounds that the property is unfit for human habitation.

But Sloan contended that landlords could always be sued if their accommodation did not meet certain standards, even though previously the power had been more geared towards the local authorities.

He said: “This legislation is not new – tenants have always been able to take legal action against landlords, but this particular bill – which was originally brought forward two years ago – gives more rights to the tenants themselves. It failed to get enough votes in 2015, but was brought forward again in the summer in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, and has now got the government backing it needs.

“In the main, it is definitely a positive move. Everyone deserves the right to a decent and safe place to live. Most landlords would already expect this to be law, and good landlords want it to be, as those who are offering substandard accommodation bring the reputation of the whole industry down. Yet it may well be concerning to landlords worried about tenants bringing spurious claims.”

He added: “The aim of this bill is to raise standards and push the bad boys out of the market, but, it is just another bit of legislation and I think there is a danger that the bad boys will be driven underground rather than out.”

“If the Government is going to regulate, it needs to regulate the industry as a whole – that’s the only way to raise standards across the board, not this piecemeal approach which seems designed more to win votes than to actually change the way that the rental market operates.”

He also pointed out that if landlords use a good lettings agent then they “never need to worry”.

At least 100 MPs will need to show up to the second reading today and a majority of those will need to vote in favour in order for the Bill to continue on its journey through the legislative process.

Even if the required number of MPs don’t show up and the Bill fails, the Government could still pick up the proposals and insert them into another Bill at a later stage.