More than half of private renters in the region hit by damp or mould amid calls to expand Awaab's Law

A staggering 79% of private tenants in the North West have experienced disrepair at home in the last year, new research has revealed. A YouGov study for housing charity Shelter has found almost four in five tenants in the private sector have been affected by disrepair.

They include 51% who have experienced damp and/or mould, while 27 per cent have had either a problem with their boiler, no heating or no hot water in the past year. A further 27pc say they have not asked for repairs to be carried out for fear of being kicked out of their home.

Shockingly, across England private renters who complained to their landlord, letting agent or local council were two-and-a-half times more likely to be handed an eviction notice. Shelter says tenants are trapped in a 'catch-22' situation that will only improve with changes to the law.

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It is urging the Government to bring forward its Renters Reform Bill, which is not expected to come back to Parliament until later this year. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "By dragging its heels on the Renters Reform Bill, the government has left private renters in the North West in a terrible catch 22 - they either shut up and put up with disrepair, or risk being evicted in a cost of living crisis.

"Day in, day out, Shelter hears from people who are forking out huge sums on rent while living in nightmarish conditions because private renting is woefully under-regulated. It is a travesty that so many private renters are too afraid to complain about the mould growing all over their kids’ clothes, or the water pouring in through broken window frames, in case it costs