Through the roof: rising rents, disrepair, and evictions
Private renters are at the sharp end of the living standards crisis, facing a perfect storm of ever-increasing rents, damp, cold and mouldy homes, and very little power to do anything about it. We’re urging the new government to prioritise renters when tackling the living standards crisis.
We’ve found:
More than half (52%) of private renters have faced a rent increase in the last year – with 1 in 5 facing a monthly hike of more than £100, and 11% having to find £200 or more.
A third of renters have had to use credit and other borrowing to pay their rent
While rents are rising fast, quality isn’t. Even in summer, 40% of renters, or 4.3 million people, are living in a home with mould or damp – including 1.16 million children.
More than 1 in 3 renters living with disrepair say it’s increased their energy bills, and 1 in 10 are being pushed into debt with their supplier as a result.
A lack of security means renters are silenced into accepting unaffordable or unsafe homes – more than a third of renters facing disrepair didn’t challenge their landlord about it – half said it was because they were scared they’d face a rent hike or get evicted.