The research was carried out for Shelter by YouGov via a survey of 2,006 privately renting adults and extrapolated using English Housing Survey figures for privately renting households.

From the survey results Shelter says that "Private renters who complained to their landlord, letting agent or local council in the last three years were two and a half times (159%) more likely to be handed an eviction notice than those who had not complained ...."

Shelter appears to lay part of the blame for the situation on the fact that the promised fairer renting legislation, currently somewhere in the legislative process, has not yet come into law and says " .... the government's unfulfilled promises to reform private renting are leaving millions of people trapped in dire conditions and powerless to do anything about it without risking eviction."

The charity points out that since the start of 2023 its online disrepair advice pages have been accessed every 18 seconds - an increase of 53% when compared with the same period in 2022.

The YouGov research shows 76% of private renters have experienced disrepair in their home over the last year, 51% had issues with damp and mould and 31% had issues with no hot water or heating. Shelter says that 25% of PRS tenants (around 2 million people) have not asked their landlord to do repairs "for fear" they will be evicted.

Polly Neate, Shelter's Chief Executive, said "Renters cannot wait any longer, the government must urgently make its Renters' Reform Bill law to protect tenants who call out poor conditions from unfair evictions and homelessness".

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