Landlords have hit back at claims that “a minority of rogue private accommodation providers” are causing misery to tenants by committing civil and criminal offences.
Homelessness charity Shelter says in the last year alone almost 350,000 Londoners, about one in five private tenants, have been the victim of an illegal act by their landlord.
Landlords entering homes without permission and deposits not being properly protected were among the most common complaints.
But the research also revealed cases of cutting off gas and electricity supplies and throwing tenants’ possessions out of their own homes before changing the locks.
National Landlords Association chief executive officer Richard Lambert acknowledges: “These figures highlight serious issues that are simply unacceptable but our research shows that 82% of private tenants are happy with their current landlord. Furthermore, Shelter’s figures show the vast majority of landlords to be law abiding.”
He adds: “It is not just a one-way street. Our research indicates that three in 10 landlords, which is approximately 600,000 in the whole of the UK, say they have been either verbally or physically abused by a tenant”.
“Anyone who suffers harassment, abuse or is subjected to what they believe to be illegal behaviour should seek immediate advice and report the matter to the police and relevant authorities.”
Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the Residential Landlords Association, adds: “Figures from the English Housing Survey show that 82% of tenants are happy with their rented accommodation but we recognise that there are landlords who do not abide by the law.
“The RLA is fully supportive of regulations that protect tenants but the reality is that we can regulate all we like but without proper enforcement it becomes meaningless. Tenants are being let down by local authorities who are failing to properly enforce the powers available to them to tackle the criminal minority of landlords.”
