A website is being prepared to assist private renters know where to turn if their landlord or lettings agent fail to resolve a problem.
That’s according to a new survey of over 2,000 private renters conducted by the TDS Charitable Foundation, which works to advance education about housing rights and obligations in the private rented sector.
Nearly seven in ten (69 per cent) tenants said they would use a website dedicated to helping people to solve their housing issues if they had a problem with their tenancy.
In consultation with tenant, landlord, letting agent and justice groups, the TDS Charitable Foundation is working to develop such a site.
The ‘My Housing Issue’ Gateway will provide a central location for tenants to understand where, and how, to direct concerns they might have regarding their rental property.
The TDS survey found that whilst just over 49 per cent of tenants knew where they would turn to for help if their agent or landlord did not address a problem in the first instance, a little over 50 per cent did not know.
The survey found that tenants want much better guidance about where to turn to for help. Almost half (48 per cent) said they wanted clearer information about how to raise a complaint when needed.
The data comes as the Renters Reform Bill proposes a range of new rights for tenants which will need to be enforced.
These include a new Decent Homes Standard for private rented housing, and measures to prevent discrimination against benefit claimants and families with children.
The Bill will also establish a new Ombudsman covering private sector landlords, to operate alongside the enforcement roles already played by councils, the courts, the police, tenancy deposit schemes, letting agent redress schemes and trading standards.
Dr Jennifer Harris, Head of Policy and Research at TDS Group, says: “The Renters Reform Bill will see the biggest shake up of the private rented sector for a generation. However, it runs the risk of failing to achieve its objectives if tenants do not feel confident about where to go for help when things go wrong.
“New rights for tenants need to be matched by improved access to information about how to enforce them. Without this, the only winners will be the minority of landlords that are failing to provide safe housing.
“That’s why the TDS Charitable Foundation is developing the “My Housing Issue” Gateway service to ensure tenants can easily establish where, and how, to direct complaints and concerns they might have.”
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So no help for the SOCIAL HOUSING TENANTS who really need it? 😡 Another faux Charity set up to bash PRS landlords. 🤬🤬🤬
Edit:
Does Polly Bleat know that she has competition?🤔
W w w getoffyourentitledarseandgetajob com
🤣- spot on G D.
What a joke! I have tenants who prefer to use their money on holidays and expensive technologies; they pay rent only when they still have some cash. Can the TDS create a charity to protect us, landlords, from this kind of people?
I would issue a section 21 now, before it's too late and Labour forces youth keep these scroungers at your expense.
Poor little tenants who "don't know where to turn to if they have an issue "..
Should it be the Landlord's responsibility to teach them how to use Google ? And put a board with explanation in the Landing. Failing that, the landlord should be fined a minimum of £50k
Sorry …… what? Where do we turn to when they don’t pay rent for a year?
Good news: they don't need to turn anywhere: the law is on their side!
Ha ha ha! What a joke! No wonder I'm selling up.
Bad people
Landlords
Hitler
Satan
More landlords
Good people
Fluffy bunny rabbits
Teddy bears
Tenants
MPs
Cuddly lovely cute stuff
Glad weve got that sorted
That made me laugh George.
Every time I think they cannot come up with any more nonsense…. They surprise me yet again 😂
I think this TDS foundation is part of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.
So, we can see in plain view that they have an open bias in favour of the tenant side of the equation. If they can’t demonstrate objectivity they cannot be fit for purpose and should have their licence revoked.
This is just more corrupted politics!
Whether or not it is a good thing will depend on whether it gives objective and fair advice starting with 2 things.
1. Talk to your landlord first. If you haven't tried to do this, go away and only come back when you have.
2. Keep paying your rent as getting behind with this could result in eviction (even after RRB).
After that, advice should be objective, legal and unbiased (how likely is that?).
It would be helpful if it also contained advice on responsibilities or "how to behave in a tenantlike manner". To include cleaning, gardening, heating and ventilation, not letting children or pets cause damage, not blocking drains, not over occupying etc. In other words, complying with their tenancy agreement.
If this is done in real consultation with landlord groups it could be a useful resource for landlords to refer tenants to if there is discussion about care of a rental and/or deposit disputes.
If being done in consultation with landlord groups.......
…and the government still keep selling their rentable Council homes… two million of them!- of which 40% were bought by the council tenant and within a few years sold off to landlords. Why? Because like the Flamed Hair Haired Queen the council tenants knew they could sell their right to buy and then make £50,000 or more profit for doing nothing - and then go back to renting. So we end up with governments making £47 Billion (yes, not a typo - billions) and Council tenants making making millions and millions. Who gets the blame for this catastrophic political disaster? Landlords! - the only ones who have actually provided a service rather than scam the system.
That is spot on. Need to stop council house sales today as they are just untapped cash machines for people that don’t understand money or how to manage it
I am not sure that the government has made billions out of right to buy. You have an asset that is used for social housing, you sell the asset at a discount, and reduce the social housing resulting in homeless people living in expensive temporary accommodation. At the very least there should be no tenant discount and the money should be used to provide further housing.
The whole thing is beyond parody , maybe ill wake up and its all been a bad dream
Welcome to the prs twilight zone
Who gave the TDS permission to use our money to set up this load of bollox?!?! Thats 11 deposits they will never get from me or my agent.
It’s a “Charidee”. 😉😉😉
At the bottom of this page click on LLT to read 2016 blurb about this charity……. It says it supports private landlords 😂🤣
Many issues could be prevented or resolved if tenants had to do a short course before renting. It could cover how to use google and how to live properly in a property. It's that simple really.
Deborah It should be compulsory. NRLA could make a fortune in course fees here
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