Thursday, 18 October 2012
Investigation sees dramatic rise in complaints about landlords
A new investigation by Shelter today reveals how complaints
about landlords have risen dramatically in the past few years.
The housing and homelessness charity contacted every local
authority in England to build a picture of the scale of the problem with rogue
landlords and what is being done to tackle it. Shockingly, the total number of
complaints made to local authorities has increased by 27% in the last three
years, with over 85,000 complaints made in total over the past year alone.
Even more worryingly, 62% of complaints were related to
serious and life-threatening hazards such as dangerous gas and electrics and
severe damp. In the last year health services had to be involved in 781 cases
due to the behaviour or neglect of private landlords.
When asked about rogue landlords in their area, local
authorities identified 1,449 private landlords who have given them continued
cause for concern in the last year.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said:
“Despite the significant increase in complaints, we believe
that the number of rogue landlords is still underestimated – some local
authorities don’t keep records of complaints and tenants often hold back from
complaining out of fear of the consequences or because they don’t believe their
voices will be heard, even though such a high proportion of complaints is about
life-threatening issues.
“Every day at Shelter we see the devastating impact these
landlords have on people’s health and wellbeing. There could be thousands more
victims of these operators, trapped in homes that cause misery and, in some
cases, put lives at risk.”
Shelter’s investigation also showed that the number of
successful prosecutions made against private landlords has gone up by 77% in
the last year. Although the rise in prosecutions is a positive signal of
change, only 487 successful prosecutions were carried out last year, mostly
driven by a handful of local authorities such as Newham, Leeds, Salford and
Manchester that are leading the fight against rogue landlords.
Campbell Robb continued:
“At Shelter we’ve been campaigning for the last two years to
urge government and councils to crack down on the small but highly dangerous
minority of landlords who make people’s lives a misery. While there have been
considerable successes, such as the increase in prosecutions and the
government’s best practice guidelines to help local authorities deal with rogue
landlords, there is still much to be done. It’s ultimately local authorities
that must do everything in their power to support people who are suffering by
cracking down on the worst offenders in their area.”
As part of the Evict Rogue Landlords campaign Shelter has
launched ‘Wrong Move’, a spoof video that presents rogue landlords’ properties
on the market and encourages people to visit Shelter’s website and email their
local council to stamp out rogue landlords in their area.
Radio DJ and presenter Lauren Laverne, who lent her voice
for ‘Wrong Move’, said:
“Working with Shelter I’ve heard of too many rogue landlords
that are simply getting away with ignoring their responsibilities. Living in a
house with serious issues such as gas leaks or severe damp can pose a threat
not only to someone’s wellbeing, but also to their lives. Stamping out rogue
landlords must become an urgent priority for us all.”
To watch the ‘Wrong Move’ video, email your local council,
get advice, or to find out more about rogue landlords who may be operating in
your area, visit Shelter’s Rogue Landlord page at
