Bid to outlaw 'revenge evictions'

Around one in 10 renting families have suffered ill health in the last 12 months because rogue landlords failed to deal with poor conditions in their property, according to the housing charity Shelter.

One in four people in the capital now rent, and their future can be uncertain. As the law stands your landlord can throw you out without a reason. But there is now a cross-party bid to change that, with many MPs wanting to outlaw so-called 'revenge evictions'.

Tina Osborne is a mother of three who lives in a rented house. Since she moved five years ago, the roof has collapsed twice. Damp covers the walls and ceilings, which are cracked, the cooker hasn't worked for 6 months, and there's no electricity in one of the bedrooms. Tina says she received her eviction notice two days after she had complained to her landlady.

It's a similar situation for Michael James, who has lived in his rented flat in East London for 24 years. He says complaints to the landlord fell on deaf ears. He contacted the council and the landlord fixed some of the problems, but not all of them.

Currently landlords can evict tenants using what's called a "section 21 notice" without giving any reason or allowing tenants any chance to challenge their eviction. A new Private Member's Bill is currently being considered in Parliament which could change this.

But not everyone agrees that the new bill will help. Some say bad tenants are more likely to use it to frustrate legitimate evictions.

Renting is the reality for millions of Londoners who live in a system that allows landlords to evict them just for asking for the basic things like the roof over their head.