Last year, I was awoken in the middle of the night by water dripping from the ceiling onto my face. Later that night, lying awake, listening to rain collect in a bowl perched on my mattress, I felt worthless. Here is the source of my landlord’s power: if I am worthless, then I do not deserve a better home.
Local rumour says our landlord brought this property for cheap knowing the roof tiles had given way to rot. That he owns ten properties and he was dropped by a local letting agent because they were tired of his negligence. Perhaps the roof would never have leaked if he’d responded to our emails. Or if the selective licensing scheme for landlords (rolled out by 50 local authorities in England) fulfilled its aspirations to protect tenants.
Click on this link to read the rest of this article.