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If you live in a privately rented property, it's your landlord's responsibility to make sure that it's safe and free from health hazards.

The housing charity Shelter has released a study showing that laws designed to protect tenants are being ignored by a small minority of private landlords.

Although most landlords behave responsibly towards their tenants, the report found that 90 per cent of Environmental Health Officers who dealt directly with private tenants had encountered cases of severe damp and mould in properties over the past year, whilst others had encountered electrical or fire safety hazards.

Amongst the biggest risks in many homes are gas appliances such as boilers.

Bill Hazleton, Health and Safety Executive: "The law says that you have to have it properly maintained - if you're a landlord you have to have the gas appliance properly maintained, and you have to have it checked for safety on an annual basis."

It's these kinds of checks which a minority of landlords are simply failing to carry out - and under the law, landlords must keep rented properties safe and free from health hazards.

Another problem the report highlights is illegal eviction. As a tenant, you have a right to protection from harassment by your landlord, and it is illegal for landlords to evict you without prior notice.

As a tenant, it's always worth checking if your landlord is a member of an accreditation scheme, and as a landlord it's also in your interests to join one of these schemes. You can get more details from your local council.

If you're a tenant and have a problem with your landlord, you can call Shelter's helpline on 0808 800 44 44, or get advice online at www.shelter.org.uk. There's also plenty of information for both landlords and tenants on the Home and community pages of the Directgov website.

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