The charitable arm of deposits scheme TDS has launched its promised website that will help tenants make raise complaints about errant landlords and letting agents.

Called My Housing Gateway, it was heralded in April last year but is being official launched today at a parliamentary event in London attended by several MPs today with the backing of the NRLA, housing lawyers and Generation Rent.

Holding landlords to account

TDS Charitable Foundation’s website is linked to the TDS app for tenants called Tlyfe and is designed to hold landlords to account by offering tenants practical advice about where and how to raise complaints about rented homes in the private and social rented sectors.

The foundation is also calling for its website’s details to be included in the ‘How to Rent’ booklet that all renters must be served when a tenancy begins.

To coincide with the launch, research has been published that shows half of tenants have no idea where to go if their landlord or letting agent fails to address a problem while two thirds said a central resource was needed – hence the new website.

Resolving problems

The Gateway helps tenants identify the correct route to seek to resolve their problems, encourage the early resolution of disputes where possible, and provide relevant information about housing rights and options in an interactive and user-friendly format.

Labour will soon reveal who is to provide redress for tenants in England and Wales.”

It has been designed following extensive consultation with government officials and groups representing tenants, landlords, letting agents and the legal advice sector.

Labour has said that it will soon reveal who is to provide redress for tenants in England and Wales, with several organisations in the running, although the social sector Housing Ombudsman is the front runner.

Dr Jennifer Harris, Head of Policy and Research at TDS Group (main image) says: “Empowering tenants like this will be vital if the Government’s ambitions of a better private rented sector are to become a reality”.

Chris Norris, Campaigns and Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, adds: “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.

“This new Gateway should act as a useful way for both groups to identify appropriate solutions in a faster, more effective way – before molehills start to become mountains.”

Visit the My Housing Gateway website.