A former lettings agent who has become a sharp critic of landlords has made another attack – this time suggesting that landlords may be slow at fixing safety-related repairs, and may evict tenants who complain about this issue. 

Very Wise Student founder Ajay Jagota – who until recently ran a north of England lettings agency – has now issued a statement saying that many renters fear ‘revenge evictions’ should they report a safety risk. And he says one in eight renter generally say they will not bother to report a fire-safety issue because they believe their landlord would be unlikely to fix it.

Jagota – who has made multiple accusations about landlord standards in recent months – now says: “This is just the latest example of unscrupulous and uncaring landlords and letting agents taking a casual approach to renter safety – and renters not having the knowledge or resources to uphold their rights.

“Fire safety is quite obviously a non-negotiable, and one of Very Wise’s many free services for students is a free student accommodation safety check – helping student renters protect their rights, but more importantly keeping them safe.

“It’s not unsurprising too to hear that so many renters aren’t even bothering to report maintenance issues to their landlords and letting agents as they assuming nothing will be done. But most repairs are not optional – and if they can’t get then carried out alone, we’re here to help”.

Very Wise is actually an offshoot of a tenancy compliance service – which has the similar name Veriwise. This controversially promotes the idea of tenants threatening legal action against landlords or agents who allegedly fail to abide by legislation surrounding the private rental sector.