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Pubs, Olympic opening ceremonies, layer-based fashion: there are many things that London does well, and we can now add ‘dickhead landlords’ to that list, according to new research by Shelter. The housing charity found that one in five London renters – the highest proportion in the country – had been victimised by a landlord acting illegally.
The findings claim that well over 60,000 people have been abused, threatened or harrassed by their landlord in the last year. Other bad behaviour uncovered by the report included nearly 15,000 renters having their utilities cut off without their consent and nearly 20,000 who said their landlord or letting agent had thrown their stuff out of the property and changed the locks.
The number of renters who felt they’d been treated unfairly because of their race, gender or sexual orientation was more than 47,000, and the most common complaint – with 195,000 instances – was of landlords entering their tenants’ homes without the permission and notice required by law.
Shelter’s advice: when dealing with landlords or letting agents, know your rights. Not all landlords are wrong’uns of course, but in London’s overheated rental market it’s easy for people to get away with illegal shit if their tenants aren’t clued up.