TDS Charitable Foundation has launched an interactive website — the My Housing Issue Gateway — to help tenants understand their rights and figure out what to do when something goes wrong in their rental home. Here we explain why the service also has benefits for landlords.
The Importance of Landlord/Tenant Relationships
The TDS Charitable Foundation’s Voice of the Landlord Survey highlights the importance of landlord/tenant relationships. In the 2024 survey, 84% of the 2,000 landlords who took part said they had a good relationship with their tenant. Participants also told us that this is the main factor influencing their satisfaction in their role as a landlord.
However, like any relationship, it’s not without its challenges. One-quarter of landlords reported facing issues where tenants failed to report repairs or maintenance problems. This can lead to small issues becoming costly problems if left unaddressed.
The Gateway helps tenants understand their rights and responsibilities, with interactive tools like letter templates and telephone scripts to support tenants who may lack the confidence to raise concerns. This can encourage tenants to report issues early, helping landlords address problems before they escalate.
Early and Consensual Resolution
One of the main aims of the Gateway is to promote early and consensual resolution when issues do arise. Tenants are encouraged to communicate directly with their landlord or letting agent, and the Gateway signposts services like the TDS Tenancy Redress Service — a free mid-tenancy mediation service that helps landlords and tenants reach mutually agreed solutions.
The Gateway has been developed following extensive consultation with groups representing tenants, landlords, and letting agents. Ben Beadle from the NRLA highlights how the Gateway can help:
“Any good landlord will tell you that communication is the key to sustaining a successful tenancy. Yet it’s too often the case that minor problems in rental properties can worsen dramatically due to a communication breakdown.
Tenants should have the confidence and the tools to be able to resolve issues in their rented accommodation, and we endorse the TDS Charitable Foundation’s move to make it easier for tenants to log problems in their rental property with their landlords.”
Raising Standards Across the Sector
We know from conversations with landlords that many of you are frustrated when non-compliant landlords tarnish the reputation of the sector. This frustration is partly because tenants often fail to report these landlords to the appropriate authorities. The Gateway helps tenants navigate their options if they have repeatedly raised issues without a response.
By giving tenants clearer pathways to redress, the Gateway can help improve standards across the private rented sector — a key strategic aim for TDS and a goal shared by many landlords.
Whether you’re a landlord committed to providing quality homes or a tenant looking to resolve issues constructively, the My Housing Issue Gateway can help build a better, fairer private rented sector for everyone.
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