Private renters at sharp end of the living standards crisis
Private renters’ housing costs are going ‘Through the Roof’ locally and across the country, according to Citizens Advice.
By Anna Tickle
CAEE local research this week showed that to date in 2024 private renters asked for help with 750 housing-related problems. This was 13.5% higher than the same period in 2023 and clear evidence of the special difficulties facing tenants.
In July a national Citizens Advice report* revealed the issues – rents, disrepair, eviction all rising – that have created a ‘perfect storm’. Their startling national figures show that of all private rental clients:
- 52% faced a rent increase in the past year
- 33% had to use credit and other borrowing to pay their rent
- 40% are living in a home with mould and damp
- more than 1 in 3 living with disrepair say it has increased their energy bills but failed to challenge their landlord.
Epsom & Ewell
Housing issues are the second most common problem facing clients at CAEE. Only the complex area of benefits and tax credits provokes more enquiries.
At the 2021 Census residents of E&E who owned their own homes outnumbered renters 3 to 1. Yet renters asking for housing advice always far outweigh owner-occupiers. Our clients’ most common private rental issues are shown in the chart.
Growing problem – it’s not just the rent
So we are seeing similar increases in the core problems everywhere. Epsom & Ewell is not an outlier.
In E&E queries about financial aspects (especially rent increases and troubles with deposits) and legal issues are most frequent. It’s some consolation however that quality of accommodation are less frequent.
Many local private renter clients also face a range of worries beyond rental problems. The knock-on effect can be huge. From falling behind on energy bills to health problems caused by damp and mould, renters find themselves in complex situations. The most common overlaps with immediate tenancy problems include:
- Access and provision of accommodation
- Threatened homelessness
- Fuel debts
- Personal Independence Payment.
Future priorities
In April, we wrote on how the national housing stock is both inadequate and unaffordable. Indeed it may be the underlying cause of the country’s worst social and economic problems. We hoped the next government would agree and prioritise new housing policies and better lives for millions.
Thorough reform of private renting is crucial. To successfully protect and support renters, Citizens Advice urges the government to:
- Help renters manage spiralling rents by keeping support linked to real rent prices
- Make sure privately rented homes are safe to live in and affordable to run
- Close loopholes to ensure a watertight ban on Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.
Ministers have their hands full with essential reforms to many areas of housing policy, but it would be a bad mistake to remove private renting from the most urgent to-do list.
* Through the roof – How rising rents, rising disrepair and rising evictions are pushing private renters into crisis, Citizens Advice, July 2024