Hidden Barriers

Shelter’s new tongue-in-cheek videos highlight discrimination in renting. The housing charity’s campaign uses humour to expose the absurdity of some of the barriers faced by renters.

Imagine being refused entry to a park because you had children? Or denied service in a café because your income was deemed too low? Imagine you were made to pay six months’ worth of bus fares upfront and provide a guarantor?

These are scenarios from a series of videos created by Shelter to raise awareness of discrimination in the rental market. The barriers faced by protagonists in each of the scenes echo those encountered by renters while looking for a home. By juxtaposing them in everyday situations, the campaign highlights just how unfair and ridiculous these barriers can be.

The videos launch on the 12th June across organic and paid social media, complimented by spots at bus stops and high streets.

The campaign was borne out of research that showed over two million renters were at risk of being locked out of homes because they receive benefits. One in five parents also say they’ve been denied homes because they have kids.
Shelter is encouraging supporters to sign a petition demanding that the government tackles these informal barriers in the recently published Renters Reform Bill.

Developed by Shelter’s inhouse team, the videos were a joint partnership with Partizan and directed by Jones, with disabled marketing specialist agency, Purple Goat, advising on one of the scripts.