Revenge eviction if you ask for repairs

Tenants who complain are 50% more likely to be evicted - the people being punished for a basic standard of living;

Revenge eviction. A revenge eviction is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe an eviction process initiated by a landlord where a tenant asks for repairs to be carried out or complains about conditions. Campaign groups such as Shelter have called for revenge evictions to be legislated against.

An investigation has found complaining dramatically increases a renter’s chance of getting an eviction notice when compared to people who do not complain.

Renters who complain about issues with their home are statistically more likely to be evicted, a report has found.

Charity Citizens Advice said people who formally air grievances around issues such as damp and mould have an almost one-in-two chance of being served with an eviction notice within six months.

It said around 141,000 people have been handed eviction notices since laws attempting to ban revenge evictions were introduced in 2015.

making a complaint dramatically increases a renter’s chance of getting an eviction notice when compared to people who do not complain.

It found tenants who had received a Section 21 "no-fault eviction" notice were five times more likely to have gone to their local authority and eight times more likely to have complained to a redress scheme.

The charity argues the figures prove 2015 laws designed to prevent families and other tenants in the private rented sector from being evicted after raising a complaint have failed.

Figures also reveal that 3 in 4 council Environmental Health Officers (EHO) saw tenants receive a no-fault eviction after complaining last year.

Of the officers who had been in their role before the 2015 Act was passed, 90% said they have not seen a drop in revenge evictions.

In examples revealed by Citizens Advice, it referred to one mum who moved into a house with her husband and two children and went to her council because a leak in the home was causing her partner’s health to deteriorate.

One day before an Environmental Health inspection was due to take place, she was issued a Section 21 eviction notice.

In the UK, there are 4.7 million households - including 1.7 million families with dependent children - living in privately rented accommodation.

The charity is now calling on the Government to strengthen tenancy laws to ensure people aren't at risk of being left on the streets because they've exercised their rights to a basic standard of living.

It backs the Government’s proposals for minimum three-year tenancies, however is concerned that potential loopholes may undermine protections that longer tenancies provide.

As it currently stands, landlords can't technically evict you for making a complaint.

However, they do have the right to service you a Section 21 notice (eviction warning) without reason.

To do this, they much give you the notice in writing, with at least 2 months' warning.

To protect people, the law states that if the tenant is on an assured shorthold tenancy and recently made a formal complaint or the landlord received a warning from the council asking them to make legally-required improvements, a Section 21 notice cannot be issued.

However, despite these rules, thousands of tenants are being evicted each year - and in more cases than not, it's those who have formally reported an issue with either the landlord or the property.

When your landlord cannot serve you an eviction notice

You cannot be issued with a Section 21 notice if any of the following apply:

it’s less than 6 months since the tenancy startedthe fixed term has not ended, unless there’s a clause in the contract which allows you to do thisthe property is categorised as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and does not have a HMO licence from the councilthe council has served an improvement notice on the property in the last 6 monthsthe council has served a notice in the last 6 months that says it will do emergency works on the propertythe tenancy started after April 2007 and you have not put the tenants’ deposit in a deposit protection schemethe tenant has not been given the property's Energy Performance Certificatethe tenant has not been handed a current gas safety record for the propertythe tenant has not received the government’s ‘How to Rent’ guide

Generation Rent, the body campaigning for fairer rules for tenants has also put forward a series of improvements as the Government prepares to close its consultation on three-year tenancies this Sunday.

It follows a petition sent to Housing Secretary James Brokenshire on Thursday, which demands an end to landlords’ right to evict tenants with no reason, and is signed by 50,000 people.

According to Generation Rent, Section 21 should be abolished entirely, ending the ability to evict tenants without grounds.

The campaign also proposes that rent rises should be restricted to wage growth and that landlords evicting to sell or move back in pay the equivalent of three months’ rent to support the tenant in finding a new home.

This would also incentivise sales with sitting tenants.

Revenge eviction if you ask for repairs

If you rent privately you could be protected from eviction if you complain to your landlord about repairs or poor conditions.

What is a revenge eviction?

A revenge or retaliatory eviction is when a landlord tries to evict you after you report repairs or complain about conditions in your home.

This usually affects private tenants with an assured shorthold tenancy as it’s easier for landlords to take steps to evict them.

Assured and pre-1989 regulated tenants

You already have protection from a revenge eviction if you have an:

assured tenancyregulated tenancy

Your landlord has to prove in court that there’s a legal reason to evict you.

Protection for assured shorthold tenants

You have some protection against revenge eviction with an assured shorthold tenancy in certain circumstances.

If you receive a section 21 notice after you complain

A court will refuse to order your eviction if all of these apply:

you complained to your landlord or letting agent in writing before you received a section 21 noticeyou complained to the local council because your landlord didn't take steps to fix the problemthe council sent your landlord an improvement or emergency work notice

A section 21 notice served between the time of your written complaint and the council issuing an improvement or emergency work notice will also be treated as invalid.

You may also be protected if you first complained about the repairs to the council because you didn't have contact details for your landlord.

If you receive a section 21 notice after the council send notice to your landlord

A section 21 notice sent in the 6 months after your landlord received an improvement notice or an emergency work notice from the council will be invalid even if you did not write to complain to your landlord first.

When the law doesn’t protect you

You won’t be protected from a revenge eviction if you:

only complained verbally and your landlord serves a section 21 notice before you complained in writingcomplain to the council but it takes no action or serves your landlord with a hazard awareness notice or prohibition noticethe council suspends its improvement or emergency work notice and the landlord then serves a section 21 notice

You also won’t be protected if your landlord can prove to the court that:

you caused the problem you're complaining aboutthey've genuinely put the property up for sale – sales to friends, family or business partners don’t countthe property has been repossessed by the landlord's mortgage lender and the property will be sold with vacant possession (this will not apply if your tenancy started before your landlord took out the mortgage)

There is no protection against a revenge eviction if your landlord uses the section 8 court procedure for eviction but you may be able to challenge it for other reasons.

Lodgers

If you are a lodger, you do not have any protection against a revenge eviction.

Your landlord only has to give you reasonable notice to leave when they want to evict you.