More than 200,000 PRS tenants 'unfairly' evicted

The YouGov poll, commissioned by Shelter and British Gas, of around 4,500 private renters found that 2 per cent of renters agreed with one of the following statements: ‘I was evicted or served notice because I asked for a problem in my home to be dealt with that was not my responsibility (eg repairs or conditions) in the last year’ or ‘I was evicted or served notice because I complained to my local council about a problem in my home to be dealt with that was not my responsibility (eg repairs or conditions) in the last year’.

Scaled up across England by Shelter, this equated to more than 213,000 ‘unfairly’ evicted tenants.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: ‘No one should lose their home for asking their landlord to fix a problem, yet these shocking findings uncover the true scale of unfair evictions taking place across the country.

‘As homeownership drifts further out of reach, more of us are facing the prospect of settling down and bringing up a family in a rented home. But with private renters facing the worst housing conditions in the country – and the chance of eviction if they complain – generation rent is getting a raw deal. The government must protect England’s 9 million renters from unfair evictions.’

The study also found that one in 12 renters are too scared of losing their home to complain about a problem or ask their landlord to improve conditions. They agreed with the statement: ‘I have not asked for repairs to be carried out and/or conditions improved because of fear of eviction.’

Shelter Scotland and Scottish Gas have joined forces in a unique partnership to improve homes in the private rented sector.

The research was jointly commissioned as part of British Gas and Shelter’s partnership to improve the conditions of privately rented homes.

To read more about the private rented sector click here.