For the Dispatches programme,
Shelter is deeply concerned about the state of private renting in Britain. As Dispatches has shown, renters can experience disgusting and dangerous conditions, with thousands suffering every year at the hands of rogue landlords.
Many viewers of the programme will see the accommodation these landlords provide and wonder why anyone would put up with living in such awful circumstances. But the reality is that rising numbers of people simply have no option.
For many middle-income families who would once have expected to buy, the high cost of homes and large deposits needed mean they will now be renting for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, those families who would have traditionally expected to get social housing face a wait of many years.
As a result, we're seeing a huge increase in the demand for rented accommodation which is pushing up rents, with Shelter's research showing that average rents are now unaffordable for families on average salaries in over half of England. This leaves families on below average incomes with very limited choice in the rental market, forcing them to take whatever housing their budget will allow.
With so many people desperate for somewhere to live, it's easy for rogue landlords to stay in business. Unfortunately, too many local councils are not using their enforcement powers to send a tough message to rogue landlords who neglect their responsibilities.
This is why it's so worrying that new laws in the Localism Act mean that councils will be able to place more homeless families into private rented housing. As Dispatches uncovers, this could mean vulnerable families are referred directly to rogue landlords - even landlords who have been in trouble with the same local authority before.
A Freedom of Information request we carried out in the summer found that more than 86,000 complaints had been made about private landlords to local councils, and that councils were aware of almost 1,500 serial rogue landlords who give them continued cause for concern. Yet just 270 landlords were prosecuted in the last year. Our research found that most councils use only 'soft' measures in response to complaints about landlords, such as a phone call or a letter.
This means that rogue landlords are not receiving a clear message that their dangerous and exploitative practice will not be tolerated.
At a time when more than one million families with children are now renting privately, this lack of action is a big concern. We want to see councils making more of the powers they have to take tough action against rogue landlords, so that no family has to suffer life-threatening electrics, growing mould in the bedroom or threatening, bullying landlords who let themselves in unannounced.
As local councils begin using their new powers to place more homeless households with private landlords, we need them to do all they can to cut rogues out of the equation by ensuring local landlords meet decent standards and fully comply with their legal responsibilities. This is the only way to avoid a revolving door of homelessness and misery for vulnerable families and ensure that rogue landlords are driven out for good.
