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Like we at Bored Panda have already shown, some landlords seriously neglect their tenants. A few even deliberately take advantage or abuse them. To counter their ill-treatment, people are uniting under the hashtag #VentYourRent. They are using it to call for better protection, highlighting the housing crisis that has made them fall prey to exploitative property owners.
The hashtag was started by Generation Rent. The organization is dedicated to improving life for renters while promoting networking and campaigning by the renters themselves. And even though the hashtag was intended to draw attention to the rental crisis faced by predominantly young and low-income people, it's open to everyone who is being bullied by their landlords.
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Rents in England (the country where the hashtag originated from) eat up household income and push people into financial hardship. According to reports, one in four private renters in England lives in poverty.
Also, more than half of the families with children living in private rented accommodation are below the poverty line. "We need rent controls that bring rents down to 30% of median local income, following the accepted yardstick of affordability," This National Renters Manifesto, created by Generation Rent and a few other organizations suggests. "Rent controls should be introduced incrementally, to prevent negative consequences for current tenants, and should be accompanied by a massive increase in public housebuilding."
A serious problem is that the majority of renters lack basic control over their home environment, even though being able to make decisions relating to one’s home is important for their well-being. "Private renters should have more control over their homes, including the right to install aids and adaptations to make their homes accessible, to redecorate, and to keep pets." The manifesto also says that tenants should be able to carry out anything short of structural changes that will improve their quality of life and allow them to flourish in their homes.
However, whether or not the tenants will be heard relies heavily on how well will they be able to organize themselves.
#6
Binxyminxem 6 years ago
Your friend (and probably the rat) has great taste in cheese though! I like snowdonia cheese 🙂
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Becca Scribner 6 years ago
Call your local Health Departmen, then Human Services. Make complaints then file reports. Make sure to get copies of the complaints and reports. Also find out if other complaints have been recorded and get copies of those, or at the very least the report numbers then call the best attorney you can find. They've made your life miserable, why not return the favor?!?
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Becca Scribner 6 years ago
GET YOUR KIDS OUT OF THERE!!! You are risking so much more than their health. You're risking their physical growth, their mental growth, let's put it this way, your retarding everything in their young bodies!
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Becca Scribner 6 years ago
Its just as bad in America! Hubby and I are both disabled, lived in our rental 18 years. Spent our own money to keep the place healthy for us, because landlord nor owner would. Still paid exorbitant rent (last increase was $135 a month) then the place was sold under questionable circumstances and we've been homeless since mid Sept. SLUMLORDS OUGHT TO BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED AFTER A PUBLIC STONING!!!
#24
Melissa Schneider 6 years ago (edited)
Can we start an international slum lord data base? Just list the country, city, the property and name of landlord or holding company? Would that be legal?
#30
Dilly Millandry 6 years ago
Read SHELTER's advice on this issue. Plus new Fit To Live In regulations apply to some rental agreements now and will be covering all the others soon. If you rent, know your rights.
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Kimberly Young 6 years ago
You know a house is bad when homelessness is the preferred choice :(
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Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
My (former) landlord wanted to evict whoever called the health department on him (for letting the boiler go off and stay off during a blizzard) - I was like "Stop it right now, that's a threat! And no, I won't give you a name." Asswipe.
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What do you think ?
Bobert Robertson 6 years ago
While in university I took in a stray cat and our landlord was adamant that we could not keep it in the house. There is a companion law that allows tenants to have a pet, so long as it is not damaging the owner's property, which our cat was not, and no other tenants in connected units with shared air ducts had allergies that would create an issue. There was a group of girls in the basement, so the landlord tried to tell me that they were allergic and that the cat would have to go. I told him we could go downstairs and talk to them and see if it was an issue, but he told me I was not allowed to talk to them. Little did he know we were good friends with the girls, and they loved the cat. Needless to say, I just ignored him and kept Butters (the cat).
Miraculous Klutz 5 years ago
No hate, just pointing something out. That cat could damage the property eventually, and it could be hard to fix.
Load More Replies... Alisha Brun 6 years ago
I live in the U.S. I have had issues in the past, but this, this is really bad. What type of protection do you have as a renter in the UK? It sounds like none. Place can be completely uninhabitable it sounds like.
Georgia Valentine 6 years ago
There are actually a lot of controls and regulations. But in places like London where rents are at least half of your salary you don't rock the boat if you got a roof over your head you can actually afford. Landlords take advantage of this, it's something that really needs sorting
Load More Replies... Plant Lover 6 years ago
I lived in a flat which had exposed bricks on one wall which would have water seeping out of it whenever it rained, mushrooms growing in the bedroom and bathroom, and black mould on the lower level. We constantly had the windows open and extractor fans on in the kitchen and bathroom. One time a fire alarm went off in the building and the firefighters came through and literally said our flat was a death trap because of the kitchen positioning. When we moved out, the landlord took our entire bond because we forgot to empty the (tiny) fridge of a few items and replace 2 of the light bulbs... the rest of the house was immaculately cleaned. So many greedy landlords out there.
Bobert Robertson 6 years ago
While in university I took in a stray cat and our landlord was adamant that we could not keep it in the house. There is a companion law that allows tenants to have a pet, so long as it is not damaging the owner's property, which our cat was not, and no other tenants in connected units with shared air ducts had allergies that would create an issue. There was a group of girls in the basement, so the landlord tried to tell me that they were allergic and that the cat would have to go. I told him we could go downstairs and talk to them and see if it was an issue, but he told me I was not allowed to talk to them. Little did he know we were good friends with the girls, and they loved the cat. Needless to say, I just ignored him and kept Butters (the cat).
Miraculous Klutz 5 years ago
No hate, just pointing something out. That cat could damage the property eventually, and it could be hard to fix.
Load More Replies... Alisha Brun 6 years ago
I live in the U.S. I have had issues in the past, but this, this is really bad. What type of protection do you have as a renter in the UK? It sounds like none. Place can be completely uninhabitable it sounds like.
Georgia Valentine 6 years ago
There are actually a lot of controls and regulations. But in places like London where rents are at least half of your salary you don't rock the boat if you got a roof over your head you can actually afford. Landlords take advantage of this, it's something that really needs sorting
Load More Replies... Plant Lover 6 years ago
I lived in a flat which had exposed bricks on one wall which would have water seeping out of it whenever it rained, mushrooms growing in the bedroom and bathroom, and black mould on the lower level. We constantly had the windows open and extractor fans on in the kitchen and bathroom. One time a fire alarm went off in the building and the firefighters came through and literally said our flat was a death trap because of the kitchen positioning. When we moved out, the landlord took our entire bond because we forgot to empty the (tiny) fridge of a few items and replace 2 of the light bulbs... the rest of the house was immaculately cleaned. So many greedy landlords out there.
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