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Written by Emma Lunn

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has written to ITV to complain about how the private rented sector was portrayed in “Britain’s Housing Crisis” aired on 5 March.

RLA chairman Alan Ward says the show “was a biased representation of conditions within the private rented sector”.

Ward was concerned that no landlord body was invited to contribute to the discussion.

“Had they done so,” he said, “ITV would have been able to note to viewers that there are over 100 Acts of Parliament containing around 400 regulations affecting the private rented market.”

The show perpetuated a negative stereotype of landlords that the RLA feels is unjustified.

In his letter to Michael Jeremy, director of news and current affairs at ITV, Ward  reiterate the RLA stance that enforcement is lacking within the PRS, allows criminals to operate under the radar while compliant landlords and their tenants pay the cost.

“The programme gave the impression that tenants in rented accommodation have few rights, with James Plunkett from the Citizens Advice Bureau arguing that “in many ways you have more rights if you are buying a toaster than if you rent a flat.” Such a statement was left unchallenged and it was remiss of ITV not to carry the views of a body representing landlords,” the letter said. “Had they done so, ITV would have been able to note to viewers that there are over 100 Acts of Parliament containing around 400 regulations affecting the private rented market. I enclose a copy of this information.

“The programme also mentioned the issue of so called ‘retaliatory evictions’ whereby tenants can find themselves evicted because they have made a complaint about conditions in a property.

“Why did ITV not reference the Consumer Protection Regulations that already provide protections against such actions?”

Ward’s letter can be read in full here.

Comments

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    Ms Crossland, thank you for responding to this site. It's not more regulation that's needed but more enforcement of Council power and current regs by investment into Environmental Depts to target bad landlords. Otherwise all it ll do is drive out good landlords and leave bad landlords to carry on.

    • 16 March 2015 16:25 PM
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    It's all very well to quote the amount of legislation that landlords have to adhere to and the lack of the enforcement of such legislation by local authorities but landlords have a fair amount of mechanisms at their own disposal to remove tenants should they choose to use it (although I appreciate with the increase in court fees and the closure of a number of courts this isn't always easy).

    I am a former renting tenant and I had a 7 year tenancy (renewed on a yearly basis) which worked really well and so I know how effective the PRS can be but there is no denying the fact that at the lower end of the market, problems such as observed by Janet Matthews are rife.

    If I were a good landlord I too would be infuriated by the amount of negative press the PRS is subjected to but if the good landlords want it to stop then they need to embrace any actions that may remove a so-called minority from the sector. I would also note that no-one knows how big this minority actually is as those that belong to landlord trade bodies, have achieved accreditation or operate HMO's (which are licensed and where landlords when caught receive serious fines) are only the tip of the iceberg.

    I know this because I work in the leasehold management sector with 18 of our 22 flat sublet with the types of landlords that TV programmes tend to portray.

    • 16 March 2015 09:49 AM
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    Can this letter to Michael Jeremy be followed up please and response published - it is sickening the way that Landlords are continually vilified without the other side being put forward.

    Can we also have a programme about the nightmare tenants who don't pay rent, and don't maintain the property? With a complaint against the landlord you will have the force of the various council departments - with a complaint against a tenant it is a civil matter at the expense of the landlord, hardly equal playing field

    • 16 March 2015 09:23 AM
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