Did your MP vote for housing which is fit for human habitation?

On Tuesday MPs voted down an amendment which would have seen landlords forced to ensure their properties were fit for humans to live in.

The amendment was defeated by 219 votes to 312 - a majority of 93.

As the Mirror reports, shadow housing minister Teresa Pearce called for the new rules to be added to the housing bill, rules which would require private landlords to ensure their properties were in a fit state:

The majority of landlords let property which is and remains in a decent standard.

So it is even more distressing when we see reports of homes which are frankly unfit for human habitation being let, often at obscene prices.

If I purchased food from a shop and it was unsafe to eat I would not only get a refund but there is a high possibility the shopkeeper could be prosecuted.

Yet if I rent from a landlord, perhaps the only available property for me, and it was unsafe to live in then I can either put up or shut up.

In a market where demand outstrips supply renters lack basic consumer power to bargain for better conditions.

Government ministers responded by saying the amendment "would result in unnecessary regulation and cost to landlords which would deter further investment and push up rents for tenants."

The bill is the first being subjected to the "English votes for English laws" rules, meaning that where parts of a bill are deemed to only affect England or England and Wales, only the relevant constituency MPs can vote.

To see how your MP voted on the issue, see our interactive map below:

Note: While the bill as a whole is subject to the new ‘English Votes for English Laws’ (EVEL) procedure, this vote (division number 162) was a vote at report stage, on new clause 52. All UK Members can continue to vote during the report stage of bills under the new procedure. For more information, see parliament.uk.