A quarter of private renters in England have refrained from asking for repairs to be carried out for fear of eviction, according to a new survey.

The number of tenants evicted or threatened with eviction after complaining to the council, landlord or letting agent about repairs, conditions or harassment in the last three years was nearly three times higher that those who had not complained, the research suggests.

The YouGov poll of 2,006 renters aged 16 and above, for British homelessness and housing charity Shelter, found that 76% had experienced disrepair in the past year, with 25% not requesting repairs or conditions to be improved for fear of being evicted.

Elsewhere in the survey, 21% of those who complained to the council, landlord or letting agent had been evicted or threatened with eviction in the same period, compared with 8% who had not complained.

In light of the poll’s results, Shelter’s chief executive Polly Neate said private renters are being left in a “terrible catch-22” as they have to “either shut up and put up with disrepair” or risk being evicted.

The government has said it is “absolutely committed to delivering a fairer deal for renters” and will ban Section 21 orders as part of its Renters’ Reform Bill in this parliament “so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent rises”.

Section 21 enables private landlords to repossess their properties from assured shorthold tenants without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant.

However, Ms Neate has accused the government of “dragging its heels” on the Bill.

“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,” she said.

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“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 them their home.”

She said that renters are “bearing the brunt of government dithering over urgently needed private rental reforms”.

“Renters can’t 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.”

The government’s plan to tackle anti-social behaviour was published on Monday, but faced criticism from charities who raised concerned about its “three strikes and you’re out” plan to speed up the process of removing anti-social tenants, and making the notice period two weeks “for all anti-social behaviour eviction grounds”.