Every photo, story and word here is real – sent in from one of England’s 10 million renters. Today, we delivered it to Westminster to show the government why we deserve better than this broken, unfair system.
The new Housing Minister @redditchrachel has picked an urgent brief in government – to give renters the security and rights we deserve, delivered through the long-awaited #RentersReformBill.
The Bill must be top priority - and this gallery is proof.
Renters have been failed for too long. Now, the Minister has the power to change renters’ lives for the better. That’s why we’re at her offices at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
Amelia explains more 👇
This gallery represents every one of us who has been preyed on by a rogue landlord. Every person living in unsafe conditions, too scared to complain for fear of eviction. Every family facing rejection from renting a home because they are in receipt of benefits.
This Bill can improve our living conditions, help stamp out discrimination, and give us security in our homes. We’ve waited far too long for it – over 1,300 days, in fact.
Thank you to every single person who helped make this exhibition, exposing the injustices renters face everyday 👊
It's been nearly 4 years since the government promised to bring about the #RentersReformBill. We can’t wait any longer. Help us tell the government they must act now. shltr.org.uk/3d5Bn.
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Mum of four and NHS nurse Lexi has won a landmark complaint, finding 'no kids' rental practices to be unfair.
This is a HUGE win and sets a precedent: letting agents who bar renters with children will be in breach of The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice.🧵
'Our children were being discriminated against and no one was listening.'
Lexi was handed a Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction on Christmas Eve 2020. In a stressful hunt for a new home, she found landlords or letting agents repeatedly refused to rent to a family with four children.
Our legal team supported Lexi to challenge this injustice. And finally, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) confirmed that blanket bans on renting to parents are a breach of their Code of Practice for Letting Agents.
After a Budget where beer was mentioned more than housing, what will the next year look like for renters already struggling with rocketing rents and the lack of affordable homes?
Firstly, the government missed the crucial chance to unfreeze local housing allowance.
LHA determines the amount of housing benefit or universal credit housing allowance that private renters can receive and has been frozen since 2020. In that time, rents have rocketed.
Unfreezing housing benefit would help people cope with rising rents and prevent more families becoming homeless this year.
We already know that over HALF of renters receiving housing benefit have a shortfall, on average a whopping £151 per month.
As part of the #RentersReformBill, the government is proposing that we move from fixed-term tenancies to open-ended ones. But what does this actually mean for renters? Time for another housing thread 👇
If you’re a private renter in England, the chances are that you have what’s called an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). This includes a mixture of fixed term and periodic tenancies. What’s the difference between the two, we hear you ask? Let’s start with fixed term tenancies 👀
A fixed term tenancy commits both a landlord and tenant for an agreed period – typically 6 or 12 months. During this time:
❌ Landlords can’t serve a Section 21 eviction notice
❌ Tenants can’t leave without the landlord’s agreement
❌ Rent (typically) won’t go up
The government have promised renters a National Landlord Register - here's what a good one should look like 👇🧵
When it comes to picking a place to call home, knowing that your landlord is decent and that your home is safe to live in are essential. So why is there no way for renters to check this?
Everything might seem fine when you go to view the property, but if problems arise after you've handed over your hard-earned cash, it can be hard to know where to turn.