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A new hashtag has been sweeping Twitter. #ventyourrent is inspired by horror stories from Generation Rent. Twitter users have been sharing their stories of horrible rental accommodation and nightmare landlords. Many have experienced rogue landlords, rip-off letting agents, and all manner of squalor.
Twitter Users Share their Horror Stories
The campaign was inspired by the pressure group, Generation Rent, who asked Twitter users to share their stories in the run-up to the consultation on longer rents, which comes to an end this weekend. Many Twitter users complained about ridiculously high rents that left them unable to save for a deposit. Some of the stories were a lot worse, however.
One woman described how she was forced to rent a property with black mould in the bedroom. When she complained, the letting agent told her it was her own fault for breathing at night.
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 #ventyourrent
— Kathryn Royal (@_kathrynroyal) 22 August 2018
Another reported a rat infestation to her landlord, only to be told it was caused by her storing food in the cupboards. One enterprising landlord even went through the dustbin searching for recyclable goods and then tried to charge his tenants £5 per item found. Another landlord regularly let themselves into the property without permission.
Illegal Property Conversions
Some of the problems related to terrible property conversions. A woman described how she saw a flat advertised with an en-suite, only to find the toilet was actually in the kitchen, next to the washing machine (under the worktop).
#ventyourrent ensuite toilet is in the kitchen pic.twitter.com/4LCEK168JK
— SwotTyler (@SwotTyler) 20 August 2018
Luckily, at least one person said their landlord was nice, helpful, and hadn’t raised their rent.
Currently got the best landlord I’ve ever had – always nice to us, gets back to us immediately, fixes problems straight away, hasn’t put our rent up since we moved in two years ago – why is this such a rare gem?? #VentYourRent
— Sophie Whitehead (@by_sophie) 20 August 2018
