You are here: Home - News -

Renters who complain face revenge eviction from landlords – Citizens Advice

by:
  • 24/08/2018
  • 0
Renters who complain face revenge eviction from landlords – Citizens Advice
Tenants who complain about issues such as damp or mould in a rented property risk being kicked out of their home, research has shown.

 

Private renters in England who raise issues with landlords have an almost one in two chance of being hit with an eviction notice within six months, according to Citizens Advice.

The charity estimates around 141,000 tenants have been hit by revenge notices since 2015.

Tenants who received a section 21 ‘no fault eviction’ were twice as likely to have complained to their landlord, five times more likely to have gone to their local authority and eight times more likely to have complained to a redress scheme, the research found.

 

Tougher laws needed

The charity said the study showed 2015 laws designed to protect tenants from revenge evictions are not working.

Laws should now be toughened, the organisation argued.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The chance of a family being evicted from their home for complaining about a problem shouldn’t carry the same odds as the toss of a coin.

“Those living in substandard properties must have greater protection against eviction when they complain.

“Our report shows that well-intentioned laws created to put an end to revenge evictions have not worked, and a new fix is needed.

“There are serious question marks over the existence of a power that allows landlords to unilaterally evict tenants without reason – known as section 21.”

There are 0 Comment(s)

Comments are closed.

You may also be interested in