We, the undersigned, call on the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to require the regular, compulsory inspection and testing of electrical installations and appliances in all types of private rented homes, and tenants to be provided with copies of inspection and testing reports.

We, the undersigned, call on the Secretary of State for Business to:

• acknowledge that the hundreds of pounds tenants have to pay letting agents discourages them from moving out of unsuitable properties, creating a grossly inefficient market;
• acknowledge that because tenants choose homes based not on the letting agent but on the rent, location and condition of the property, transparency over fees is unlikely to drive them down;
• acknowledge that letting agents should only charge fees to their customer, the landlord; and therefore
• ban the charging of fees by letting agents to tenants.

VICTORY FOR RENTERS

In March 2015, the government amended the Deregulation Bill to outlaw the use of no-fault evictions when local councils upheld complaints about the condition of a tenant's property. That means that landlords will be unable to get rid of tenants who complain about leaks, mould or disrepair through so-called revenge evictions. 

The decision followed a campaign by Shelter, Crisis, Citizens Advice, Generation Rent and GMB Young London - and Sarah Teather MP - and involved 700 emails from Generation Rent supporters to MPs and ministers. 

Revenge evictions are one of the ugliest aspects of the private rented sector and lead to many tenants being frightened to request repairs because they fear losing their home. The government's decision to ban them will help millions of people.  

Tenants still need local councils to take action in order to be protected, and landlords can still evict tenants without giving a reason in other circumstances - so there is more that we need to do. But this victory for renters shows what can be achieved by people power.

Background:

Read Venice Allan's story

Read about a setback for the campaign in November 2014

We, the undersigned, call on Her Majesty's Government to stop the planned extension of the Right to Buy to housing associations, and to ensure that extra public money available for housing is spent on building new homes, not hand outs.