A number of families who live in ‘death-trap rentals’ have backed demands to introduce tougher regulations for landlords.
The family of seven-year-old Alexa-Leigh Blakemore are calling for curbs to be brought in after the child suffered brain damage and was put in a coma for weeks when a fireplace fell on top of her.
Other families have complained of walls and ceilings coated in thick, black mould – and some with broken fire alarm systems.
The Sunday Mirror is demanding the owners of 4.5million private rented homes in England be forced to join a national register to show their properties are safe.
In Scotland, The Repairing Standard, contained in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, covers the legal and contractual obligations of private landlords to ensure that a property meets a minimum physical standard.
However, in England tenants have no way of checking whether their place is safe before they move in.
Backing our Safe as Houses campaign is the family of Alexa-Leigh Blakemore, seven – left brain damaged when a fireplace collapsed on her.
Mum-of-three Elle – who says she asked her Liverpool landlord to fix the fireplace – tells us: “We thought Alexa-Leigh was dead. There was blood coming out of her ears, her nose, her mouth.
“We would definitely support the introduction of a national landlord register. I am all up for landlords having the right checks to make sure their properties are well maintained and safe. It can be a life-or-death situation.”
Alexa-Leigh’s family is not alone. Renters’ union Acorn surveyed 500 private tenants and 91.8per cent had lived with a hazard in their home in the last five years.
Some experienced structural issues. Others had fire risks, asbestos and damp. More than half did not raise issues for fear of being evicted – as private landlords can turf tenants out without giving a reason.
Some 18.2per cent had been threatened with a no-fault eviction when raising issues and 11.2per cent were served with a notice to leave. And half had experienced harassment or intimidation by a landlord.
Many renters are in the private sector due to a lack of social housing.
Last year, 29,000 social homes were sold or demolished and fewer than 7,000 were built.
The private rented sector, meanwhile, has doubled in size over the last 20 years and is home to 11 million, including three million children.
If regulations are tightened, landlords could be expected to prove they are fit and proper. This is open to debate but it could mean those with certain criminal convictions, like fraud, being barred from renting out homes.
Katie Weston, 25, only discovered her landlord in Sunderland had a fraud conviction when he tried to keep her deposit.
She said: “He became aggressive when I challenged him. I wondered if, given his past, he’d tried this before.”
A register could also inform tenants if a landlord had a history of failing to protect deposits, charging excessive rent or carrying out illegal evictions.
Alexa-Leigh’s family moved into their three-bed property in 2015, at £425 a month.
Elle was worried about the fireplace and says she offered to pay half of the repair bill, but nothing was done.
The family is now taking civil action against their former landlord, while Merseyside police are investigating.
Gordon Cartwright, partner in the catastrophic injury team at JMW Solicitors, claimed: “The family reported a number of issues to the landlord, which were not resolved prior to the accident.”
Five months on, Alexa-Leigh is still in hospital and shattered Elle, 27, and partner Kieran, 33, are having sessions with a trauma psychologist.
Their daughter spent six weeks in a coma, had to learn to walk and talk again and might never have children as the part of her brain controlling hormones has been impaired.
The accident still gives Elle nightmares.
She says: “I was in the bath and I heard a bang. Kieran screamed, ‘She’s dead!’ Alexa-Leigh was fitting on the floor. Kieran ran into the street to scream for help.
“She had her eyes open and I couldn’t find a pulse. The ambulance took two-and-a-half minutes – she’d lost two litres of blood by then.”
The family was told to prepare for the worst but Alexa-Leigh defied expectations and woke from her coma in late October.
Elle added: “The progress is amazing. It started with her responding to a pinch on her left hand. Then, we started getting smiles from her.
“She was non-verbal for three months – but her voice came back. She doesn’t talk like a normal seven-year-old but her speech is coming back better every day.
“She has her sight, her hearing is returning and she’s learning to walk with a frame. But this could have been prevented if the house was safe. I still have flashbacks and nightmares.”
John Lowry, director and head of housing repair at CEL Solicitors, said: “There are a lot of rogue landlords. Properties can be really dangerous . This can have serious health impacts.”
Osama Bhutta, director of campaigns at Shelter, said: “Every day, we get calls from renters in damp and dangerous conditions or facing landlord harassment. It’s appalling there’s no way for them to check the property is up to scratch and the landlord is a decent one before it’s too late.
“We need to professionalise the private rented sector so tenants can sleep soundly at night.
“The Government must deliver on its promise to introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill that includes a National Landlord Register.”
The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said it would “explore proposals for a national register” and consult on “legally binding new standards”.
A spokesman added: “Councils should use powers we’ve given them to crack down on rogue landlords, including fines of up to £30,000 and banning those who rent out unsafe homes.”
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