TV star and evictions expert Paul Shamplina has said he does not accept Shelter’s recent propaganda stating that 45% of landlords are involved in ‘illegal behaviour’.
As LandlordZONE has reported, Shelter launched an aggressive campaign two weeks ago based on a YouGov poll that reported poor behaviour by landlords and letting agents who, the charity said, break the law. This behaviour ranges from simple admin errors to entering properties without permission and, at the extreme end, threats of physical violence.
Appearing on Ian Collins’ Talk Radio show, Shamplina said he understood that Shelter needed to campaign on tenants’ behalf within the private rental sector, but that he didn’t accept the claim that nearly half of landlords are involved in unlawful activity.
Small minority
“I question those numbers,” he told Collins and his listeners. “It just doesn’t reflect the reality of the market. Yes, there are a lot of naïve landlords out there who try and self-manage their properties and get things wrong.
“The landlording game has changed dramatically. Within the past five years alone there have been 47 regulation changes – it’s becoming a complex place to operate. But it’s the small minority of criminal slum landlords who we want to get out of the sector, not the majority of law-abiding ones who care about their tenants.”
Shamplina also made the point, one that Shelter has made itself, that the government has played a key part in the dramatic downturn in the social rented sector, forcing many vulnerable tenants into the private market where their complex needs cannot be met.
He pointed out that while Shelter may criticise landlords for their failings, it is the government which has brought about this change. He said its looming rent reform proposals will be the final straw for many landlords.
“At Landlord Action more and more of our clients seeking help with evictions are getting fed up and looking to sell up rather than facing huge increases in red tape and costs, while being vilified by organisations like Shelter, Generation Rent and the UK’s many tenant unions,” he added. “A different approach is needed.”
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