Report shows a quarter of renters in the West Midlands faced eviction in last 12 months
It comes ahead of the Renters' Rights Bill returning to Parliament next month
A new report into Rogue Landlords is revealing the shocking state of the rental system in the West Midlands.
The findings by Duncan Lewis Solicitors reveal a quarter of tenants in the region have faced eviction in the last 12 months, while a third have had to deal with damp or mould in their homes.
Furthermore, another quarter have had to ask agents or landlords multiple times for problems to be fixed, and 30% have suffered leakages or water damage.
Report creator, Manjinder Atwal, says instances of rogue landlords "are not isolated cases", with the report showing the realities of what she says is a rental system "overwhelmingly weighted in favour of landlords leaving many tenants afraid to complain about unsafe or unlawful practises."
It comes ahead of the Renters' Rights Bill, which is set to abolish Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, returning to Parliament in September, before it becomes law in 2026.
She tells us the problem is widespread because the law hasn't kept up with the reality of the rental market.
"The section 21 still allows landlords to remove tenants with little justification, which creates a climate of fear. And adding to this a shortage of affordable housing, rising rents mean many tenants simply cannot move even when their house is unsafe," she said.
Manjinder added that councils are underfunded and under-resourced, meaning they can't tackle the problem as robustly as they could, meaning landlords flouting the rules know they're unlikely to face real consequences for their actions.
Things might get worse before improving
While the Renters' Rights Bill will help improve security for people living in rented accommodation, with Manjinder describing it as "transformational", she says landlords looking to leave the market will serve section 21 notices ahead of the bill becoming law, allowing them to lawfully move tenants out.
"I can envisage the courts being inundated with possession claims," Manjinder said. "Without proper funding for local authorities and investments in the courts, there's a real risk that these rogue landlords will continue to exploit the loopholes.
"I think a lot of landlords will perhaps remove themselves from the buy to let market and that will then increase shortages of housing and that that will increase the rent. So I believe that it will get worse before it gets better."
Help is out there
Renters are being advised that they don't have to "suffer in silence", with Manjinder insisting there is help available to them
She says all repair requests should be kept in writing, with a clear record of communication between tenants and landlords or agents.
Should a landlord be harassing a tenant, entering without permission, making threats, or a person feels their life is in danger, the Police can be called.
Manjinder says there are multiple services able to help renters in such situations: "This is not just a civil matter, but also a criminal matter.
"Tenants should seek early legal advice by approaching their local solicitors, Citizens Advice Bureau, their law centre, even their local council because they do have powers to intervene."