Christmas goodwill towards landlords seems in short supply from activist group Generation Rent. 

It has this week issued a statement saying the existence of Section 21 eviction powers “allow landlords to intimidate tenants into staying quiet about disrepair.”

The group blames S21’s existence is why “private rented homes are more likely than homes in other tenures to have a dangerous hazard.”

Generation Rent also blames spending cuts preventing local authorities from inspecting private rental properties.

However the activists say Rent Repayment Orders are the effective solution to reducing the number of private rental properties that are – allegedly – sub-standard.

The group’s statement says: “If your landlord needs a licence but hasn’t applied for one, you can apply for a Rent Repayment Order at the First Tier Tribunal and could receive up to 12 months’ rent back. It doesn’t require a full investigation from the council, just confirmation that the landlord has not applied for a licence for your home. In London at least, RROs are the main way landlords get into trouble for dodging licensing rules.”

And complementing the RRO, it says, is the portal concept included in the Renters Reform Bill

Generation Rent says: “Central to this is the introduction of the Property Portal – a national register of landlords. Finally, those businesses that provide the thing you spend half your life in and often take half your wages, will have to make themselves known to the authorities. As a tenant you will be able to check information about your home, including details about your landlord and whether they have met certain legal requirements. The Portal will also provide information about your rights as a renter.”

Currently the Bill says it’s up to local councils to ensure their local landlords are registered – but the activists are unhappy about this, because they say councils are too underfunded to carry out this work.

“The easiest way to enforce [registration on the portal] is with an army of tenants checking the Portal and coming down like a tonne of bricks on landlords who try to hide” says the group. 

It even wants this enshrined in law, suggesting that “one tweak to the Renters Reform Bill could transform renters’ awareness of rights, drive up landlords’ compliance with new rules and reduce council’s workload at a time of financial difficulty.”