Following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale due to excessive mould in his home, there is more attention on living standards for renters than ever before.
But despite this private renters in poorly maintained homes feel trapped in a ‘catch 22’ situation where they either put up with poor conditions, or risk being kicked out for complaining.
New research by housing charity Shelter has revealed tenants are more than two-and-a-half times (159%) more likely to be given an eviction notice if they complained to their landlord, letting agent or local council in the last three years, compared to those who haven’t.
The charity says this is down to a lack of regulation, and figures compiled by YouGov found more than 6.2 million (76%) private tenants in England had experienced disrepair in their home – 51% of whom had issues with damp and mould.
Chiara Daughtry lives in a flat in Leyton, east London, with her husband Ben and three-year-old daughter Maggie.
After the landlord increased their rent by 25% last Christmas Eve, Chiara complained about long-term severe damp and mould issues – and shortly after the new year, they received a Section 21 notice.
Chiara, a teacher, said: ‘The landlord said they didn’t accept any responsibility for the disrepair of damage.
‘Even before the Section 21, we’d spend a lot of time at the library, church, or cafes, just so we didn’t have to worry about Maggie being in the damp and cold.
‘I was up all night looking online for properties, but it’s really hard out there. Rents have massively gone up.
‘People are so desperate they’ll consider taking a flat that’s mouldy or in disrepair just because there’s nothing else.
‘There really needs to be a way of holding landlords accountable, or for there to be some sort of record so you can look and see if someone is a good landlord.
‘The thought of this happening to us in our next place always looms over me. I pretend everything is okay in front of Maggie, but the worry of becoming homeless is making me feel ill.’
What is a Section 21 notice?
A Section 21 notice is also known as a ‘no-fault eviction’ notice.
It allows landlords to evict a tenant without giving any reason for doing so, and they only have to provide two months’ notice.
But there are some exceptions to this: landlords can’t use a Section 21 notice if the tenancy started less than four months ago, the house is a HMO but not registered as such, or if the local council has served an improvement notice or a notice that they will do emergency works.
Government figures released earlier this year show the number of English households evicted due to Section 21 proceedings increased by 143% in a year – from 792 between October and December 2021 to 1,924 during the same period in 2022.
Shelter has also seen an increase in requests for its support, with its online advice pages on disrepair being accessed every 18 seconds so far this year. That’s an increase of 53% compared to last year.
Charity chief Polly Neate said: ‘By dragging its heels on the Renters Reform Bill, the government has left private renters in a terrible catch 22 – they either shut up and put up with disrepair, or risk more than doubling their chances of eviction in a cost of living crisis.
‘Day in day out Shelter hears from people who are forking out huge sums on rent while living in nightmarish conditions because private renting is woefully under-regulated.
‘It is a travesty that so many private renters are too afraid to complain about the mould growing all over their kids’ clothes, or the water pouring in through broken window frames, in case it costs them their home.
‘Renters are bearing the brunt of government dithering over urgently needed private rental reforms.
‘Renters can’t wait any longer, the government must urgently make its Renters’ Reform Bill law to protect tenants who call out poor conditions from unfair evictions and homelessness.’
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: ‘We remain absolutely committed to delivering a fairer deal for renters.
‘We will bring forward a Renters Reform Bill in this Parliament, abolishing no fault evictions so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent rises.
‘In addition we are providing families with significant support over this year and next – worth on average £3,500 per household – as well as uprating benefits and the state pension by 10% in April.’
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