Sheffield Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to crack down on so-called “revenge” evictions by private landlords.

In a Council motion this week, they are calling on councillors to back a private bill in Parliament that will target landlords who refuse to maintain properties and try to evict tenants who report poor living conditions.

The private rented sector in Sheffield has more than doubled in size between 2001 and 2011 and makes up 16% of our housing stock, accommodating some 35,670 households.

At present, private landlords can evict tenants legally without a reason, these powers are often used when a landlord wants to sell a property or move into it. But the system is open to abuse by rogue landlords.

A private member’s bill is being presented by Liberal Democrat MP, Sarah Teather, on 23 November to change the law.

If a tenant reports a health and safety hazard to environmental health, for example, the law as it stands doesn’t stop the landlord evicting the tenant. The only protection the tenant has is when the landlord doesn’t protect a tenant’s deposit in a government-backed scheme or hold a proper House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence.

A national survey by Housing charity Shelter says there are some 200,000 tenants have been evicted in this way in the past year.

Local Graves Park ward councillor and Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet member for Homes & Neighbourhoods, Cllr Steve Ayris, said:

The law fosters poor conditions and needs changing. It works against tenants, doesn’t help the majority of good landlords who want to know what repairs need doing and stops councils from taking action in case a tenant is evicted by a rogue landlord simply for complaining.

There are over 35,000 households in Sheffield renting privately, including thousands of students who can be particularly vulnerable to rogue landlords. It’s only right that we stand up for them and prevent revenge eviction.

• Click here to sign the petition
• See the Lib Dem motion to Sheffield City Council here

or to find out more go to http://england.shelter.org.uk and sign up to support the campaign.