The private renting sector is like the 'wild west' with landlords using 'fake bailiffs' to trick tenants out of properties, a charity warns.
Safer Renting warned rogue landlords were increasingly turning to private security companies to evict tenants without a court order.
"In the past, criminal landlords may have sent heavies to throw tenants out, but this is the first time in 33 years of working in the private rented sector that I've seen fake bailiffs kitted out with stab vests, radios and handcuffs. Some of them even have vans with police-like livery on the side." Last month the government launched its Renters Bill to give tenants and landlords new rights, with no-fault evictions set to be banned.
Data compiled by the charity from various sources, including Citizens Advice, Shelter, and local authorities, reveals that there were over 8,000 cases of illegal eviction or harassment in 2022—a rise from nearly 7,800 cases in 2021 and over 6,900 cases in 2020.In the charity’s most recent case, a landlord used a private security firm to help evict two families, including a woman and her autistic son, in east London.
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