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1 in 10 renters victim to
law breaking landlords in North West of England
NEW research released has revealed that
in the last year alone 1 in 10 private renters in the North West of England has
suffered from an illegal act, committed by a landlord. Nationally, over a million; or 1 in 8; private renters across England have suffered at the hands of a
landlord who has broken the law.
Alarmingly, the survey by Shelter and YouGov uncovered a range of problems with
law breaking landlords in the North West of England, ranging from unlawful
behaviour to serious criminal offences. While reports of landlords entering
homes without permission and deposits not being properly protected were among
the most common complaints from renters, many cases of shocking behaviour from
rogue landlords were also uncovered in the survey.
The most striking findings from the region included:-
► The equivalent of almost 10,000 renters reported that a landlord has cut off
their utilities without their consent and 7,400 said their belongings had been
thrown out of their home and the locks changed
►
Nearly 50,000 renters have had their home entered by a landlord without
permission or notice being given
► 7,300 reported having been abused, threatened or harassed by a landlord
► Almost 15,000 renters felt they had been treated unfairly due to their race,
nationality, gender or sexual orientation.
The housing charity is warning that a minority of rogue landlords are causing
misery to the lives of renters by committing these civil and criminal offences.
Often renters don't know what their rights are. In just the last year, Shelter's
website has received over 220,000 unique visits to its advice pages for people
facing problems with a private landlord.
Shelter's helpline adviser, Danielle Goodwin, said:-
"Every day at Shelter
we speak to people at the end of their tether after a law-breaking landlord has
caused chaos in their lives. These range from instances where the renter has
been unaware of their rights, to cases where renters are exploited and subjected
to terrible experiences by a minority of law breaking landlords.
Too many people simply don't know their rights as a renter; but Shelter is here
to help anyone having landlord problems with free, expert advice. As a first
port of call go to:-
Shelter.Org.UK/Advice or for urgent problems call our
helpline on:- 0808 800 4444." |
