Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable tenants are living in sub-standard housing because they fear being evicted if they complain, a report has claimed...

Citizens Advice said some landlords are using a loophole in the law to get rid of renters who ask for repairs around the house or object to the standard of accommodation.

The practice - known as retaliatory eviction - is disadvantaging people living in the estimated one million private rented homes that fail the Government's decent homes standard.

At present, private landlords can use a clause in the Housing Act 1988 to end a shorthold tenancy agreement without needing to provide any reason why.

Despite being illegal in other countries, using such measures against renters who complain about standards is not recognised in current UK law.

Low-income tenants at risk from ‘unscrupulous’ landlords

A Citizens Advice Bureau report found that those most at risk from unscrupulous landlords are vulnerable tenants on low incomes. Many are unable to simply leave their accommodation and move elsewhere and as a result feel trapped.

Citizens Advice is calling on the Government to change the law to restrict the use of Section 21 of the Housing Act - which allows the fast-tracking of evictions - where a tenant has recently exercised their statutory right regarding disrepair or health and safety issues.

David Harker, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:

"Everyone should have the right to live in a safe and decent home, and a change in the law would end the misery endured by many vulnerable people who are too afraid to complain.

"No responsible landlord has anything to fear from what we are proposing."

A survey of 129 Environmental Health officers and Tenancy Relations officers found that nearly half had seen people put off using the help they were offered through fear of eviction.