We are recruiting Justice First Fellow (JFF) -Trainee Solicitor

To counter complaints voiced in landlord press that local authorities are failing to enforce against rogue landlords and agents, Safer Renting brings you a monthly roundup of the real work being done, stories which are often not reported on more widely than the local papers. We welcome any stories of yours that we missed.

The Harassment and illegal eviction are criminal offences under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Legal action is brought by the council and the tenant becomes a witness in the local authority prosecution. At the same time, they are also civil offences, known as ‘Breach of Covenant for Quiet Enjoyment” and a renter can take their own action as well as the council prosecution, so the offending landlord or agent can receive a criminal record and be fined and be ordered to pay damages to the tenant in a civil claim. Civil claims are generally heard much faster than criminal ones but there are two main barriers to renters taking their own action.

Back in April 2019 the national press picked up on a success story of a group of students who won a Rent Repayment Order against their landlord, kick starting a wave of interest from tenants and advisers alike. One of the crucial items we tick off our list at Safer Renting when interviewing one of our referred clients these days is whether or not the possibility for an RRO exists. In fact, RROs have been around for quite a while, having been ushered in by the Housing Act 2004 but they weren’t flavour of the month until comparatively recently. Why?