Londoners are taking to social media to tell the world about their horror stories of renting using the hashtag #ventyourrent.
The campaign has been launched by Generation Rent to draw attention to what Londoners get in return for their rent.
Tenants’ stories range from common but unacceptable problems such as mould and infestation, all the way to threatening behaviour from landlords and near carbon monoxide poisoning.
Lots of minimalist properties on the market in London #ventyourrent #votehomes pic.twitter.com/fTkQVZnpXi
— Generation Rent (@genrentuk) April 28, 2016
#ventyourrent at https://t.co/NIk4BAWdLU #rantyourrent @THRenters pic.twitter.com/6PwPeh00Db
— Generation Rent (@genrentuk) April 28, 2016
According to the latest figures from Homelet, rents in Greater London are up by 7.7% in the past year. This compares to a national average (excluding London) of 4.9%.
The hashtag has attracted more than 1000 tweets and trended for several hours last night. Green Party candidate Sian Berry was among the contributors, having just received a letter saying her rent was going up.
The campaign was launched as Generation Rent finalised its policy comparison site votehomes2016.com, where six mayoral candidates’ housing policies are put through their paces to help voters make up their minds.
Renters are also being encouraged to submit photographs showing their experiences on ventyourrent.tumblr.com.
Dan Wilson Craw, policy manager at Generation Rent, said: “The candidates for Mayor describe London as the greatest city on Earth, but as long as growing numbers of people are paying huge sums to live in squalor, they’ll have a lot of work to do to make that a reality.
“The hashtag #ventyourrent is unearthing the scale of common problems like damp and mice, all the way up to the most shocking experiences like poisoning, ceilings falling in and bullying landlords and letting agents. When London goes to the polls, the two million renters in this city need to make their voices heard.”
Chris Norris, head of policy, public affairs and research at the National Landlords Association, said: “Whilst we can completely understand tenants’ frustration with criminal landlords or illegal conditions, this Twitter campaign does not seem to be very constructive. Rather than social media, the NLA would always recommend that tenants first report any problems to their landlord.
“If the landlord proves to be unresponsive, the tenant should then go to the local authority to report environmental health violations or criminal behaviour. Councils can then take criminal action to rectify any problems they may have.”
A recent study by think-tank the Resolution Foundation found that the housing ladder is rapidly disappearing for most young working households on modest incomes. According to the research, over-45s now account for three-quarters of all home owners and that only one in 10 young people are likely to be on the property ladder in 2025.
