Activists who until last week were focussing their campaigning on demanding the publication of the Renters Reform Bill have now announced their new anti-landlord message.
The London Renters Union - part of the Rental Reform Coalition, led by the Generation Rent group - has launched the SafeHomesNow campaign, claiming unsafe housing has a major health impact one residents.
It launched the campaign last evening in east London demanding a local council “increase enforcement against private landlords letting out dangerous housing so that no one faces another winter of damp and mould.”
Newham’s Labour controlled council claims one in five private rental properties in the borough - equivalent to 8,000 homes - present a serious health hazard.
The LRU, in a campaign launch statement, says: “While properties remain in poor conditions, this hasn’t stopped landlords raising rents. Although Newham has one of the highest levels of poverty in London, median monthly rents are now up to £1,550, a massive 62 per cent of incomes.”
LRU members are calling on Newham council to invest in housing safety by expanding its enforcement team, and by taking more proactive enforcement action against landlords who it says are “profiting off of unsafe accommodation.”
A spokesperson for the London Renters Union says: “Nobody should get sick or become injured because their landlord is failing to undertake basic repairs. At a time when rents are skyrocketing to record highs, it is outrageous that any renter should be forced to forfeit half their income for dangerous housing.
“There is a huge power imbalance between renters and landlords as the threat of ‘no-fault’ eviction still hangs over the heads of anybody challenging mistreatment. We are calling on Newham council to side with renters and take a proactive approach to tackling dangerous housing to ensure no one faces another winter of damp and mould.”
The LRU also cites two case studies. One claims that they were left with “life-altering injuries after a damp roof collapsed on top of me when I was living in temporary accommodation. The landlord got away with it, seeing no consequences.”
The other says: “Our kitchen ceiling collapsed after almost two weeks of the agency and landlord ignoring our repeated warnings of a growing damp patch. I had left the kitchen a few seconds before, only to hear a terrifying crashing noise behind me. The man who came to repair it said we could still use the kitchen and just put some tarp over the hole, leaving us waiting for it to dry. We had no idea whether it was safe.”
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Well these businesses have to earn their money somewhere.
We are being demonized as the rogue enemy who persecutes and harms the innocent victim. It has been said that there are four stages to this:
1. Both media and state employ frames to portray inherent nature of so-called enemy mostly in moral terms.
2. The character of the opponent is depicted in a Manichean way, as good against evil.
3. The state is the origin of such demonological portraying.
4. There is no significant counterclaim from the state.
This kind of portrayal means that they can do anything to use - criminalise us, fine us, destroy our businesses, appropriate our properties etc.
Most damp and mould is caused by tenants failing to heat and ventilate properties sufficiently.
Even when provided with tumble dryers they still insist on having racks of wet laundry all over the house.
And when they put the clothes to dry on radiators or heated rails, that causes condensation which leads to mould and rotting plaster. There is expensive damage to the property, and the landlord is portrayed as irresponsible and damaging the health of the tenants!
Newham , what a dump
London is a strange place 🙄 what goes on there should not be a template for the rest of us.
Yes. I lived there for 13 years and moved out as I was in the minority.
I have had a number of issues of Black Spot Mould in all cases It was the Tenant not opening windows.
Especially in the winter.
In all of the cases when the tenant has left and a new tenant comes in who vents the property properly the problem goes.
Drying Cloths constantly on Radiators, and Tumble dryers are also a problem. Mould is something that needs to be cured by the Tenant as well as the landlord.
So councils are now getting the criticism previously only Landlords did from renters groups.
Though the groups conveniently seem to forget that 'revenge evictions' are now banned (as I understand).
No landlord or their children should have to suffer constant hatred and bigotry of the blackshirt hate gangs and their vile propaganda and lies
It appears we live in a country where abuse and mental torture is considered a legitimate means of pursuing a political agenda
It annoys me that these groups are Charities (and so get tax breaks).
But they are uncharitable, as well as mis-representing facts.
What about the mental health of the landlord whose tenants do not understand the concept of heating and ventilating a property correctly, in turn causing black mould and damage to the properties paintwork, fixtures and fittings? Having to go in an decorate when those tenants vacate? And what about those with mortgages that have increased 13 times? It's not their fault rents are rising due to a lack of supply, caused by all the suggested changes in legislation. All that will happen next, is more landlords will sell and rents will go even higher. Persecuting landlords who have worked hard to purchase their rental properties needs to stop. It's not as though the government has enough housing for tenants in need. Reducing the number of landlords will only exacerbate the issue. I don't actually know any landlord who has unacceptable housing or who has randomly served a section 21 notice without reason. Where are these people?
This is me above. I had black mould due to the tenants. No-win no fee solicitor. Council intervention. Many £thousands later it was fixed. Then I turned to fix the tenant with a S21 especially due to 'use it or lose it'.
I didn't sleep for weeks with the stress. I didn't eat for a whole day sometimes too. Lost a lot of weight. Could not drive too. What about my mental health????
So, the author thinks, by the use of his word "claim", unsafe housing doesn't have a major health impact on tenants?
It's also an incredibly poorly spelled article. Does anyone proof read these articles or do you just spaff them onto the internet as fast as you can write them?
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