Sponsored Video: Wrong Move: a sorry tale of renting – join the campaign to #evictroguelandlords

Matt | October 10, 2012 | 0 Comments

Sponsored post.

As part of their #evictroguelandlords campaign, Shelter is shining a spotlight on the serious issue of landlords not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, sometimes at a huge risk to tenants.
Shelter is a housing and homelessness charity. It’s name resonates and you most likely have some knowledge of it already. While homelessness is a huge and significant issue, it’s important not to forget that every two minutes someone faces losing their home (rented or owned) and that there are many families balancing between having a home and losing it. Rogue landlords make this balancing act ever so much stressful and dire for the tenant.

It may be a case of landlords not carrying out repairs in a timely manner or not responding to issues of safety that a tenant raises with them. It may be an issue with damp, insects, rodents, heating, defective equipment and machinery including boilers and wiring. People reading this who have never been in a situation where their home is at risk may find this situation hard to imagine, but there are many people who cannot afford to take a day off work let alone, the costs involved with moving house and the time involved in searching for a place. This can lead to individuals and families being stuck in a home that isn’t healthy for them, while they continue to pay the rent.

Why wouldn’t landlords want to help their paying tenants and keep their property maintained?
That’s a great question for which their are many answers. Some answers relate to cost saving – if a repair doesn’t get done the landlord saves money. Sometimes landlords put pressure on tenants to move out by ignoring necessary repairs. Sometimes it’s a case of priorities and a landlord may be busy with other things and not deem a repair to a tenant’s place as top priority. In any of these cases, it is simply wrong.

This year alone, complaints against landlords are up almost 30%. Shelter believes that everyone should have a home. They help people find and keep a home. Shelter also campaign for decent housing for all.

Visit their website at http://unr.ly/QHt6Ay to find out more about what they do and the increasing problem with rogue landlords.

Tags: Landlords, renting, Shelter