More than 200,000 rental sector tenants across England are estimated to have faced a “revenge eviction” in the last year after asking for a problem with their home to be put right, according to research for charity Shelter.

One in 50 (2%) private sector tenants said they had been evicted or served with an eviction notice because they had complained to their landlord, letting agent or council about something that was not the tenant’s responsibility, such as a repair that needed fixing.

This equates to more than 213,000 people if the figures are projected across England.

The YouGov survey of more than 4,500 private renters suggested that many more renters are too scared of losing their home to complain at all. One in 12 renters (8%) say they have avoided asking their landlord to repair a problem or improve conditions in the last year because they were scared of eviction.

More than two-fifths (41%) of renters said they have experienced mould in their homes in the past year, while a quarter (25%) have lived with a leaking roof or windows, and 16% have had electrical hazards.

Matt Hutchinson, director of flat and house-share website SpareRoom.co.uk, said the strength of demand for rental properties in some areas of the UK means that the website is seeing as many as 12 people compete for every room advertised.

He said: “With demand far outstripping supply in the private rented sector, tenants can be left feeling utterly powerless to complain about living standards – because they know they’re easily replaced.

“Everybody has the right to expect a decent standard of accommodation, whether they own, rent or share their homes. It’s unacceptable to have people living in poor conditions simply because they’re afraid to complain for fear of eviction.”

Mr Hutchinson cautioned that regulatory intervention should not make it harder for good landlords to operate.