ARE YOU TRAPPED?
Here are the people to contact for help and support.
If you’re listening to the series and thinking 'this is me', well, you’re not alone.
I’ve met so many people during this investigation who reached out to us for help because their landlord was not listening to them, and they did not know where else to turn.
As you’ve been hearing in the podcast, sometimes it doesn’t matter how many different services and organisations you reach out to, the sad and unacceptable reality is people are often ignored.
But others are not even aware of the help that is out there, or crucially what rights they have as a tenant – whether it is in social housing or in the private rental sector.
EVICTED OR FACING HOMELESSNESS?
Firstly, if you have been evicted or are facing the prospect of homelessness, it is really important to know what help and support you are legally entitled to. You may not get exactly what you need, as you have been hearing, but your best place to start is the government website. If you want to find out the details for your local council’s housing department, you can visit this page and enter your postcode.
UNDER 18s
If you are under the age of 18, you should visit this part of the government website for specific help and information.
Generally I find the government website lays out your rights as a tenant quite well, whether in social or private housing, but it isn’t a great place to get specific help, advice or representation. It is quite good at laying out the laws in different parts of the UK because housing is a devolved issue, so laws are applied differently.
HOUSING CHARITIES
There are specialist housing charities working specifically to support housing tenants, whether you are facing eviction or living in poor or dangerous conditions.
Shelter is a good place to start. I have visited their call centres and sat alongside their call handlers who listen to your story and work out the best course of action. It is free to call them. On their website you can find phone numbers to talk to them or chat online. They take emergency calls too if you suddenly find yourself with nowhere to go.
Crisis is another national charity dealing with people facing homelessness. They have nine different centres across the UK that you can contact for local help.
PROBLEMS WITH LANDLORDS
If you have listened to the series and, like the people I have met, are living with damp, mould, leaks or other appalling conditions and your landlord is failing to act, you have a few options – although I would caution that none are particularly quick remedies and I have heard mixed things about their effectiveness. The housing system is very much a work in progress!
The good news is that since we began our investigation, the law has changed to give both the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman more powers and therefore social housing tenants, in theory, more rights. They can come down much harder on bad landlords.
If you have complained (perhaps several times!) to your council or housing association and not got anywhere, you can complain to the Housing Ombudsman first and foremost. The Ombudsman should look into your individual issue and make a judgement, with the power to fine the landlord and hopefully give them a kick up the you know what.
The Regulator is designed to deal with wider systemic issues but does take individual complaints and should then assess whether your particular issue is part of a wider pattern of bad or incompetent behaviour. If you’ve listened to Episode 3 yet, when I visit Clarion’s estate in Eastfields, you’ll know how bizarre the system was before, when the Regulator couldn’t inspect homes or speak to tenants. That has now changed, so you will hopefully have a much more helpful experience. At least, that’s the idea anyway.
Oh, and if you are nerdy like me and fancy knowing the intricate details of the key differences between the Regulator and the Ombudsman, grab your favourite bottle or can, tear open the popcorn and feast your eyes on this bad boy explainer. You’re welcome.
RENTING PRIVATELY
If you are renting privately, the law sadly offers you less protection. One thing we didn’t get into in the podcast series (housing is complicated and messy and we couldn’t sadly cover it all) was the fact there is no standalone regulator of the private rental sector and the Ombudsman scheme does not automatically include private landlords.
The Department for Housing sets the rules in the private rented sector and local councils are in theory meant to regulate and ensure landlords and agents are following them. In practice, I’ve found it is a bit of a postcode lottery and some local authorities are better than others at enforcing the law and coming down hard on rogue landlords. They can come and inspect your home and then contact the landlord. Shelter has advice on how to do this.
If you require legal advice or representation, see if you are entitled to legal aid first and foremost here. I have to warn you, legal aid has been cut back considerably in the last decade and the number of people entitled to it has fallen. It is worth checking it out though anyway, as it's free. You can also contact Citizens Advice.
There's a whole bunch of great charities providing support to people in different circumstances. This link here lists a few and is worth a look.
I would also like to say this investigation, this podcast series you’ve hopefully listened to, only made so much noise because people came forward to us and spoke out. We have spoken to hundreds and hundreds of people, visited countless homes and hotels and hostels and attempted to give people a voice when they did not have one. We take our duty of care to people very seriously and do not broadcast or publish any details without consent and permission. Our email address has not changed since our first report in March 2021 and we are still keen to hear from you – so email us: housingstories@itv.com.
Thanks for listening,
Dan