Fed up British tenants have taken to Twitter to share their horror stories as an increasing number of residents are forced to rent amid rising property prices.
In reply to a call out from campaign group Generation Rent Twitter users posted pictures of their shocking living conditions and landlord horror stories alongside the hashtag #ventyourrent.
The group made the shout out to coincide with the government’s consultation on landlords offering longer tenancies coming to an end on Sunday 26th August.
One angry Brit revealed her estate agent blamed the black mould in her bedroom on her ‘breathing at night’, while another told how his landlord said it was her fault the flat had rats as she was ‘keeping food in her cupboards’.
Elsewhere, a tenant revealed she discovered her landlord having sex in her bed, while one even tried to charge their tenants £100 each to unblock the child lock on the internet.
And many revealed that due to the sky-high rental prices they were unable to save towards buying a home, with one man tweeting that he had never lived alone with his girlfriend, and a woman revealing that she’s still renting, aged 40.
Fed up British tenants have taken to Twitter to share their rental horror stories in a viral thread this week as an increasing number of residents are forced to rent amid rising property prices. Seen: A landlord blaming the rats on ‘the tenant keeping food’
In a shocking case of space saving, one tenant shared a picture of her toilet next to her washing machine- revealing that it was described as an ‘en suite’
Another posted a snap of her kitchen which was just a few metres wide, writing: ‘The landlord turned his 1 bed flat into a 3 bed flat and charged me £740 a month for a room. This was the kitchen. Note that there is no oven, and the hob did not work. I ate only sandwiches for 3 months’.
In a shocking case of space saving, one tenant shared a picture of her toilet next to her washing machine – revealing that it was described as an ‘en suite’.
Meanwhile another posted a snap of her kitchen which was just a few metres wide, writing: ‘The landlord turned his 1 bed flat into a 3 bed flat and charged me £740 a month for a room.
‘This was the kitchen. Note that there is no oven, and the hob did not work. I ate only sandwiches for 3 months’.
One tenant even shared a picture of a huge hole in the ceiling, writing: ‘First place I rented, the living room ceiling fell down. It kept falling while I was telling the landlord. He didn’t do anything about it for three days because he was at a wedding. We had to go through the living room to get to the kitchen.’
Others posted pictures of mould taking over their living spaces, with one tweeting: ‘During my Masters I slept in a bedroom where one wall was entirely covered in black mould. Estate agent told me it was because I was breathing at night.
One angry resident revealed their kitchen had been left half fixed since March, sharing a snap of a room without a floor, covered with a few rugs, in the viral ‘vent your rent’ thread on Twitter
In another shocking image shared to the viral thread of angry renters, one woman revealed there was a hole in the living room where the ceiling had fallen down- and it was left that way for three days
One renter uploaded a picture of her badly mouldy wall, revealing that she paid rip-off prices to live without hot water for months in the viral Twitter feed online
In February figures released by Lettings network Countrywide revealed that tenants paid a record £51.6 billion last year in private sector rent – more than twice the total bill in 2007, according to estimates.
Countrywide’s analysis suggests that for the past 11 years the millennial generation born between 1977 and 1995 have been paying the majority of total rent in Britain.
Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: ‘The rental market grew in 2017.
More people joined the rented sector and average rents increased, meaning 2017 saw the highest total rent bill so far.’
The government is currently holding a consultation on a proposed three-year tenancy with a six month break clause, to give tenants more certainty over their rents.
On Thursday UK rent groups delivered a petition with 50,000 signatures calling for a ban on unfair evictions, and calling for the government to scrap section 21 rules which allow landlords to issue no-fault notices to force tenants out and cash in on rising property prices.
The campaigners consist of a coalition that includes the group the ‘Acorn renters’ union’, the ‘London Renters Union’, and ‘Generation Rent’, who found in a recent survey that 72% of respondents think landlords should not be allowed to raise rents faster than inflation.
As well as overbearing landlords, many came up with very creative excuses for the problems in their home, with one tenant revealing their estate agent had blamed the mold on them ‘breathing at night’ in the viral Twitter thread
Two angry renters held up their dilemmas in the viral Twitter thread about renting, with one admitting it was impossible to rent somewhere decent as a singleton, and another admitting her landlord suggested a hoover as a solution for bed bugs
Continuing the pattern of shocking landlords, another wrote: ‘Used to have a landlord who’d let herself into my flat whenever she felt like it, without warning. One time I was in bed asleep when I heard someone coming in, just managed to get dressing gown on as she entered my bedroom. She told me off for not being up yet!’
Continuing to share horror stories, one woman explained she wasn’t able to afford a flat for her and her partner of six years in London due to high rents, leaving them with no option but to share with other.
‘£2,250pcm for a shared flat with regular plumbing and internet access problems. 40 & still renting,’ she said.
Another complained of moving in to find toenail clippings and mould on the walls.
Another wrote: ‘Because London rent is so high, I’ve never lived alone with my partner since we met 6 years ago. £2,250pcm for a shared flat with regular plumbing and internet access problems. 40 & still renting’.
And others described their rip off fees, with one tweeting that they are charged £180 every year for signing a contract renewal, while another revealed they were charged £280 for a broken gate at their Bournemouth home, which was already damaged on moving in.
One renter even revealed they left London after being told by an estate agent that they ‘should be grateful to be shown anything after complaining about viewing a studio flat with human sick and a dead rat in it’ that was above their budget.
Another frustrated resident wrote: ‘Since I had to leave home at age 16/17 I have calculated I have paid over £100k in rent. I’m 33 now and have exactly £0 saved for a deposit due to high rent rates.’
One admitted they were blamed for the damp in the room for ‘pushing the bed too close to the wall’, in the viral Twitter thread about bad rental experiences
Another frustrated resident wrote: ‘Since I had to leave home at age 16/17 I have calculated I have paid over £100k in rent. I’m 33 now and have exactly £0 saved for a deposit due to high rent rates.’, but a few shared more positive experiences in the viral rental thread