Campaigning charity Shelter has thrown its weight behind a campaign against allegedly unaffordable rents in a UK city.

The campaign is called Fair Renting in Bristol, where there are an estimated 122,000 private tenants.

It issued a manifesto in 2024 and a more recent petition, both of which feature on the Shelter website, saying: “A lot of us are living in poor and unsafe conditions, and we aren’t able to challenge landlords or letting agents who fail to make repairs, because we are at risk of rent increases and eviction. 

“And many of us are locked out of private renting altogether, due to the discrimination we face based on our age, sex, race, disability, type of employment or type of income.”

The campaign describes itself as being “powered by the people of Bristol, with support from Shelter”.

It is demanding that the city’s political leaders “tackle high and out of control rents by lobbying the national government for local powers to control rents” and taking more formal enforcement action to combat “poor conditions”.

Shelter’s support for the rent control campaign is despite a pledge that it would become more conciliatory towards landlords under the leadership of new chief executive Sarah Elliott.

In an industry press interview in February she said she saw here role as attempting to get previously hostile parties around a table to discuss a way forward.