Generation Rent figures suggesting that hordes of tenants could have protection from a no-fault eviction because they don’t remember getting key documents are disrespectful to the industry, says the boss of a tenancy deposit scheme.
The housing campaign group’s poll of 1,000 private renters found that 23% remember receiving a Government How to Rent guide at the start of their tenancy, while 36% of renters think they received an Energy Performance Certificate, 44% remember receiving a gas safety certificate, and 47% recall getting information about where their deposit is protected.
mydeposits CEO Eddie Hooker says many landlords and agents include the prescribed information within the tenancy agreement or appended to the agreement, suggesting that these statistics could also be interpreted as tenants failing to read and understand the documents.
A negligible number of end-of-tenancy disputes involve any aspect relating to the failure of landlords providing the right information, Hooker tells LandlordZONE.
He adds: “I am disappointed, especially after all the hard work landlords and tenants have worked through over the past year, that the sweeping statement from Generation Rent suggests that landlords are only interested in having ill-informed tenants.
“Language like this is disrespectful to the sector that works tirelessly to provide the much-needed housing for many individuals and families across the country and encourages conflict between the parties when in most cases it is not required.”
Generation Rent says failure to provide all of these documents makes a no-fault Section 21 eviction notice invalid, while tenants can apply to the county court for compensation worth up to three times the deposit’s value if it isn’t protected in an approved scheme.
Director Alicia Kennedy (pictured) says: “This can be valuable knowledge now that eviction notice periods have been reduced and landlords throughout England are taking advantage.”
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