ONE in eight renters have been the victim of law-breaking landlords in the south west - according to research by Shelter - the housing and homeless charity.

The research shows that the equivalent of almost 100,000 private renters in the south west have suffered an illegal act committed by a landlord.

This includes reports of landlords entering homes without permission and deposits not being protected properly.

The most striking figures in the south west show that more than 15,000 renters reported that a landlord cut off their utilities, 5,000 had belongings thrown out of their home or locks changed.

More than 74,000 renters had their home entered by a landlord without permission. More than 12,000 reportedly have been abused threatened or harassed by a landlord.

And almost 5,000 renters felt they had been treated unfairly due to their race, nationality, gender or sexual orientation.

Shelter is warning that ‘a minority of rogue landlords are causing misery to the ives of renters by committing these offences, and often renters don’t know what their rights are.’

A spokesperson for a local housing charity said: ‘We have heard a couple of reports of landlords treating tenants badly.

‘One was a single mum with two teenage daughters living in a rural area. Their landlord who would turn up unannounced and look through windows. He made them all feel very uncomfortable and vulnerable and they moved because of his behaviour.

‘More recently we had a report of a working couple who were on a rolling contract and had lived at the address for just under a year. They knew the landlord wanted to do work on the property, so would have to move at some point.

‘They went on holiday, and had friends staying at their home to feed the animals. They were then given a week’s notice while they were abroad, and their friends were booted out.

‘They came back at the end of their week’s holiday to find all their possessions had been moved into the garage and their post had been opened.

‘This is of course totally unacceptable. They took legal advice, and were told it was illegal but the costs of pursuing the case would outweigh any financial benefit to them.

‘Of course, the landlord wouldn’t have been able to do it if they had been there at the time. They had a six month contract, with a one month notice period, but were left homeless overnight.’

‘Finding private rents in the South Hams is very difficult,’ the spokesperson added.

A spokesman for South Hams Council said: ‘There is no excuse for being a bad landlord and we fully support Shelter’s campaign to raise awareness of law-breaking landlords and what help is available for renters. In the South Hams, the council does much to drive up standards in private rented accommodation including supporting landlords trying to improve their properties, regularly inspecting accommodation and helping tenants worried about their housing conditions.

‘Our housing advice service can help if you have problems related to housing issues, you can contact our housing team at [email protected]. We also offer practical help to landlords to improve their properties including low interest loans for essential repairs, for more information about our housing advice service or what is available for landlords, please visit www.southhams.gov.uk/article/1583/Housing.’

Responding to Shelter’s research, Richard Lambert, chief executive officer at the National Landlords Association, said: ‘We believe that no one should have to put up with a criminal landlord, but a lack of enforcement and prosecution from councils means that it’s way too easy for the unscrupulous to get away with this kind of behaviour.

‘These figures highlight serious issues that are simply unacceptable but our research with tenants shows that 82 per cent say they are happy with their current landlord. ‘Furthermore, Shelter’s figures show the vast majority of landlords to be law abiding.

‘But it’s not just a one way street: three in ten landlords in the UK - approximately 600,000 - say they have been either verbally or physically abused by a tenant before.

‘What’s important is that anyone who is harassed, abused or subject to what they believe to be illegal behaviour seeks immediate advice and reports the matter to the police and relevant authorities.’

Shelter’s helpline adviser, Danielle Goodwin said: ‘Every day at Shelter we speak to people at the end of their tether after a law-breaking landlord has caused chaos in their lives. These range from instances where the renter has been unaware of their rights, to cases where renters are exploited and subjected to terrible experiences by a minority of law breaking landlords.

‘Too many people simply don’t know their rights as a renter - but Shelter is here to help anyone having landlord problems with free, expert advice. As a first port of call go to shelter.org.uk/advice or for urgent problems call our helpline on 0808 800 4444.’