Working with five councils across Britain, the tenants’ campaign organisation Generation Rent is striving to encourage tenants to call more often for help from their local councils.

Working with Dundee City, East Suffolk, Gedling Borough, Newport and London Borough of Newham councils, Generation Rent said it discovered that two thirds of private renters were unaware that their local council could help them with some landlord and letting agent issues.

Findings of its report, Ending the Disconnect, underlined the importance of the Government’s recently announced plans to for a property portal to raise renters’ awareness of their rights, it said.

Half of private renters (49 per cent) had experienced damp and mould in their rental property, ‘but with just 21 per cent having received a government guidance booklet from their landlord, many renters are unaware of the support they are entitled to from their council’.

The Renters Reform White Paper sets out plans to require landlords to join a property portal which should allow tenants to check their compliance, and also includes new powers for councils to enforce decent homes standards in private rented homes.

‘Our work will help councils understand their local private renters and how to use these powers most effectively’, said Generation Rent.

‘The findings indicate that relying on landlords to provide tenants with information about their rights is flawed, and there is a role councils should play’.

As a result of its project, the five partner local authorities have made commitments to introducing different forms of formalised communication with renters, said the campaign group. These include setting up a Private Tenant Forum, an ‘online one-stop-shop’ and a local Private Tenant Packs.

Also recommended is training for local councillors in renting issues and drop-in sessions with officers.

Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz highlighted the London Borough’s involvement with Generation Rent in her latest newsletter.

‘We are working with the campaign organisation Generation Rent, and through our collaboration with them, they’ve discovered that 84 per cent of private renters have had problems with their landlord, but 70 per cent don’t know that they can contact the Council to get help. That’s why last year we set up our Renters Rights Hub, where residents can contact the Council to get help and advice’, she said.