New poll suggests quarter of renters don’t report repairs to landlords over fears of eviction

The poll -  carried out by YouGov - has revealed that some private renters are holding back from reporting repairs

A new poll carried out by YouGov for the charity Shelter has revealed around one in four private renters don’t report repairs to landlords. This is due to fears over being evicted from their property.

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Over 2,000 people aged 16 or above took part in the survey. From this, around three quarters said they had been in need of repairs to rented property in the last year.

However, 25% of these people said that they refrained from reporting these to landlords. This is due to fears of being evicted.

Shelter described the situation for renters as “a travesty” and outlined how the charity hears regularly about cases in which tenants are in need of repairs. The results of the poll come just three days after the government published its new measures to counter anti-social behaviour across the country.

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Amongst this announcement was further powers for landlords to tackle ‘anti-social’ tenants. This involves the ability to remove tenants with two weeks notice in instances of them playing loud music, using drugs, causing damage to their property or falling behind on their rent.

Landlords could be given more power in new plans proposed by the governmentLandlords could be given more power in new plans proposed by the government
Landlords could be given more power in new plans proposed by the government | Getty Images

Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive, said: "It is a travesty that so many private renters are too afraid to complain about the mould growing all over their kids’ clothes, or the water pouring in through broken window frames, in case it costs them their home. Day in, day out Shelter hears from people who are forking out huge sums on rent while living in nightmarish conditions because private renting is woefully under-regulated."

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